Flaming Ember: The New Sequel to Blaze
by cappucinokitten22
Summary: Read Blaze in order to make sense. Its been 5 yrs since Kiara Blaze went missing and the X-Men have given up searching for her. But when she suddenly comes out of hiding and leaves behind Kurt's long-lost daughter all hell breaks loose. KurtxOC.
1. Chapter 1

Flaming Ember - An X-Men: Evolution fanfiction.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the X-Men.

Chapter 1

Berlin, Germany

Mischa Wagner stood in the darkness of the attic bedroom she shared with her mother. Her clothes were ragged and threadbare. Moonlight shone through a hole than ran along the hemline of her dress, but none of her features were visible in the still darkness of the room. Footsteps could be heard, pounding up the stairs towards her, but, still, the four-year-old stared, transfixed, at the object that danced freely in the palm of her hand: A tiny, pale-blue ball of fire.

"Mscha – _nein_!"

Mischa looked up as the room was suddenly flooded with light to see her mother standing in the open doorway.

"Mama," Mischa said, closing her hand, causing the ball of fire to vanish.

Mischa's mother, Kiara Blaze, stared at her daughter with wide, frightened blood-red eyes. At the age of nineteen, Kiara was startlingly thin, her dark hair that was shot through with streaks of blood-red and bright yellow was thick with grease, the black scales that covered her body had long since lost their luster, and she learned long ago to always to keep her wings folded against her spine in their current household. Her face was gaunt with the skin spread taut across her cheekbones, which jutted out at sharp angles, and her expression was, at the moment, panic-stricken.

"Mischa," Kiara said, rushing over to her daughter and grabbing her by her shoulders. "How long have you been able to do that for?"

"Not long," Mischa said quickly. "Tonight was the first time, I swear. It is not the only thing I know how to do, though."

"What?" Kiara said, looking even more distraught than before.

"Now, now, Kiara," a man's voice said. "I believe young Mischa's powers could prove valuable to us."

Kiara and her daughter both looked up to see an elderly man dressed in a priest's robe standing in the doorway of their bedroom.

"Father Viktor?" Kiara asked, looking at the man inquiringly.

The Xavier Institute

Bayville, New York

Professor Charles Xavier sat silently in front of the machine that was Cerebro. He stared at the map of Europe on the screen with all of its flashing dots. He was focused particularly hard on the dot that was flashing over Berlin, Germany.

Professor Xavier spun around in his wheelchair as the doors of the Cerebro chamber slid open with a _hiss_. Beast, Logan, and Ororo entered the room. The doors slid shut behind them.

"You called, Professor?" Ororo asked.

"Indeed I did," Professor Xavier said, turning back to Cerebro. "You see, over the course of this past month, Cerebro has been picking up on anomalies in Berlin, Germany that suggest a mutant is present there."

"So?" Logan said, looking unconcerned as he leaned against the doorjamb. "There are mutants all over Europe. Why should this one be any different?"

"You don't think it's one of Magneto's men, do you?" Beast asked the professor with raised eyebrows.

"Oh, no," Professor Xavier assured him, smiling. "This mutant's powers have only just begun to manifest themselves."

"Then why are we so worried about it?" Logan said, frowning.

"Yes," Ororo said, "and why are we keeping Scott and the others in the dark about this?"

"What kind of mutant are we dealing with here, Charles?" Beast asked, crossing his arms.

Professor Xavier typed a name into Cerebro and brought up an X-Men profile sheet that none of them had seen in years. The three behind him stiffened. The subject on the screen had long ago become a taboo in the Xavier mansion and none of them believed that the professor would dare to bring it up.

"Five years ago," Professor Xavier said, "the mutant known as Kiara Blaze disappeared from this property without notice –"

"It wasn't without notice," Logan interjected. "Bobby Drake let her leave and then he watched her fly off into the sunset."

"We have, as of yet," Professor Xavier said, ignoring Logan's outburst, "been unable to locate, but I believe I may have found a lead that is worth following up on."

"In Berlin?" Ororo said doubtfully with raised eyebrows.

"Yes," Professor Xavier said, bringing up another mutant's profile. "You see, the powers that have been manifesting belong to a very young girl by the name of Mischa Wagner." He hit the "Print" button on Cerebro.

The room was silent for a moment as the Professor printed out the mutant's profile. Then Logan said, "Did you say this kid's name was _Wagner_?"

"Yes, that's right," Professor Xavier said, knowing he would have to explain little more.

"And how old is she?" Ororo asked.

"She only just turned four, actually," Professor Xavier said, handing them each a copy of the girl's profile.

"She's a teleporter?" Beast said, looking impressed by what he read.

"Yes," Professor Xavier said, "but she also displays several characteristics of a pyro as well. Just this evening, I discovered that she has the ability to conjure fire."

"She must have gotten _that_ ability from her mother," Ororo said, still reading Mischa Wagner's profile.

Logan looked up from the papers in his hand. "All right," he said, looking at the professor. "Now, I've just got one question for you – who's going to tell Kurt?"

A/N: Alright. Now, just to be clear, I'm not entirely sure if this is actually going anywhere. I'm just posting it as an experiment due a request from a reader. So read and review the chapter, answer the poll I've set up on my profile, and we'll see what happens from there.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own the X-Men.

Chapter 2

Berlin, Germany

Kiara and Mischa both sat across Father Viktor and his wife Fraulein Agatha at the scrubbed wooden table in the kitchen. The house was silent and from where they sat, Kiara could see clearly into the sitting room. The state of the house was impeccable, due to the amount housework that she and Mischa both did. No one would have ever suspected that they had been living there since Mischa was a month old.

"I don't understand, Father," Kiara said at last, holding Mischa tightly in her lap. "How could Mischa's powers be valuable to us?"

"I have noted the development of your daughter's powers for weeks now," Father Viktor said, causing Kiara to look down at Mischa in horror.

"You've had your powers for that long?" Kiara asked her daughter.

Mischa nodded silently.

"I was the first one to notice," Fraulein Agatha said, smiling and leaning across the table, "her ability to disappear from one part of the house and reappear in another."

"You teleport?" Kiara said, still staring down at her daughter.

"Ja," Father Viktor said, laughing, "and now with her ability to create fires that don't hurt people –"

"I can make real fires, too," Mischa said quickly. "It's only the blue ones that don't burn."

"You see?" Father Viktor said, looking up and gesturing at Kiara, who looked stunned by her daughter's words. "With her abilities, anyone would be delighted to have her."

"What are you talking about?" Kiara said, looking up at him. She gripped Mischa even tighter as the flames inside of her began to raise defensively. "Mischa is my daughter. She's mine – I gave birth to her."

Mischa looked confusedly from Kiara to Father Viktor and back again.

"My dear," Fraulein Agatha said in a hushed voice, "we could make a lot of money off her in the slave trade."

"Mama," Mischa said, staring up at her mother. "What are they talking about?"

It took Kiara a moment to answer. She could not believe what she was hearing. They wanted to sell her daughter to the slave trade?

Kiara smiled sweetly down at her daughter as white-hot flames tore at the back of her throat. "Nothing," she said. "Go to our room."

Mischa nodded and hopped out of Kiara's lap. Then she squinted her eyes and made a face that suggested she was trying very hard to concentrate. Then, a moment later, she disappeared from sight with a burst of blue flames.

Kiara stood and swallowed the flames that tore at her insides as she leaned against the countertop behind her, gripping its edges for support. Then she scowled and said, "I have done everything you've ever told or asked me to do. Mischa has never been outside this house, except for once." She paused to take a breath. "I think it's time for us to leave."

"Really?" Father Viktor said, getting to his feet as his smile faded. "And just where do you think you'll go – back to her father?"

Kiara felt the warmth drain from her cheeks. No one had mentioned Mischa's father in years. Mischa had asked about him a few times, but she knew that Kiara didn't like to talk about him, so she usually kept quiet about it.

"Mischa's father loves me," Kiara said in a dangerously low voice as her eyes filled with tears.

Father Viktor scoffed. "Maybe he did," he said, "but that was five years ago. Then you abandoned him and made it so that he'd never find you –"

"I was pregnant," Kiara reminded him defensively. "I didn't want to force to be a teen dad."

"So you hid his child from him!" Father Viktor spat at her. "Do you really think he's going to thank you for that?"

"Mama?"

They all looked up to see Mischa standing in the kitchen doorway. No one had noticed her arrival.

"Mischa," Kiara said, rushing over to her. "I thought you were upstairs?"

"Why is everyone shouting?" Mischa asked her mother.

Kiara stared down at Mischa for a moment, debating. Then she said, "We're leaving. Tonight."

"I don't think you want to do that," Father Viktor said, taking a step towards them.

Kiara picked Mischa up and ran up the back staircase that led to their attic bedroom. Once inside, she closed and locked the door, engulfing them in total darkness. She set Mischa down on the floor and said, "Pack your things."

Mischa rushed over to the small closet Father Viktor had installed years ago. She grabbed an old duffle bag off the floor and began throwing her clothes inside of it. She was vaguely aware of Father Viktor's pounding footsteps coming up the stairs towards them.

Kiara ran over to the twin-sized bed that she and Mischa shared. She reached under the bed and wrenched open the loose floorboard.

"Stupid girl!" Father Viktor shouted as he banged his fist against the door. "Open this door!"

Kiara ignored him as she reached inside the compartment under the floorboard and pulled out a large, square bundle wrapped in cloth. She stared at it for a moment and rubbed the water-proof fabric with her fingers. She hadn't seen or touched this uniform in years. It felt so strange for her to be holding it in her hands again.

"Mama?"

"Here," Kiara said, handing the bundle to Mischa. "Make sure you give that to your Vati."

"Are we going to see him?" Mischa said, dropping the bundle in her duffle bag.

Kiara stood up and smiled sadly. It was at that point that she became aware of the sound of approaching sirens. "Father Viktor must have called the cops…" She said the words uncaringly. She knew they would be able to outrun them.

"Mama?" Mischa prodded.

"_You _are going to live with your Vati, Mischa," Kiara said, looking down at her. "I'm going to take you to the place where I know you'll be able to find him. Just promise you'll give him a chance."

"Where are you going to go?" Mischa asked.

"I don't know yet," Kiara said, picking up the duffle bag off the floor, "but I promise you'll be safe."

"But, Mama –" Mischa protested.

Kiara whirled around and grabbed Mischa by her shoulders. "Listen to me," she said. "Your Vati will love you."

Mischa stared up at her mother as tears began to stream down her cheeks. "I don't want to leave without you," she whispered.

"Mischa," Kiara said, wrapping her arms around her daughter. "_Ich liebe Sie mehr als Leben_(1)…But we've got to go now."

Kiara picked Mischa up in her arms and carried her over to the one small window in the room. She threw the window open only to be met by the sounds of siren cries below their window.

"Oh, god," Kiara said as she crawled out of the window, holding onto both Mischa and the duffle bag, and onto the window ledge.

Kiara stood on the ledge shakily for a moment. Then she snapped her wings open and jumped off the ledge.

Mischa screamed loudly as the Berlin street top came rushing towards them. Then, at the last moment, Kiara pulled out of the dive and swooped upwards into the sky towards the one place where she was sure Mischa would be loved and, above all, safe.

1) _Ich liebe Sie mehr als Leben_ - German for "I love you more than life."

A/N: Ok, just so everyone knows the word "Vati" is German for "Daddy" and you're gonna be hearing it a lot. So much, in fact, that it'd be a nuisance for me to translate it every time I typed it out. Sorry if that annoys you, but that's just the way it is.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own the X-Men.

Chapter 3

The Xavier Institute

Bayville, New York

Kurt Wagner sat silently with his friends in the living room at the Xavier Institute. It had been five years since Kiara Blaze had disappeared from his life, but he hadn't changed much. Physically, anyway. His dark hair was still shaggy and shoulder-length, and he still dressed the same as always, but everyone still very much understood that he would never quite be the same.

The X-Men had spent three years searching for Kiara with aid from the Morlocks and the U.S. government before Professor Xavier finally agreed that it was time for the search to come to an end. Kurt had been furious with the professor's decision, and he continued putting up "Missing Person" fliers long after the search had been called off. It wasn't until after the professor told him that the fliers were probably useless without an updated photograph of Kiara that Kurt finally admitted to himself that the odds of him ever seeing Kiara Blaze were incredibly slim.

After that, Kurt began to focus more on his studies. He still performed pranks, although it was solely for his friends' sakes. He even dated a little, but was disappointed when he quickly discovered he was unable to connect with anyone else the way he had been connected with Kiara.

"Hey, you alright?"

Kurt looked up to see Lance Alvers – Kitty's steady on-again-off-again boyfriend and fellow X-Man – staring at him from the armchair.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Kurt said, smiling. "Why?"

"You were, like, totally spacing out, Kurt," Kitty said worriedly from her spot in Lance's lap.

It was then that Kurt realized that he had been, only a moment earlier, staring out the window at the front steps of the mansion. That was the same spot where Bobby Drake had told him that Kiara had left.

"I'm fine, Kitty," Kurt said, looking back at his best friend. "Really."

"You sure?" Lance said doubtfully. "You seem strangely depressed for a guy who just finished his first of college and got a head-start on summer vacation."

"Will y'all pipe down?" Rogue snapped at them from her spot on the floor. "I'm trying to watch a movie."

"Sorry, Rogue," Kurt said, smiling at his half-sister. "We didn't mean to interrupt your horror movie marathon."

"Whatever," Rogue said, turning her attention back to the movie. "Just pipe down, will you?" She turned up the volume on the television.

"Excuse me, Kurt?"

All of the students looked up to see the professor standing in the doorway.

"I would like a word with you if that's alright, Kurt," Professor Xavier said before any of them had a chance to respond. "You should probably come, too, Rogue. This involves you as well. You are his sister, after all."

"Uh, sure," Kurt said, getting to his feet.

"You got any idea what this is about?" Rogue asked him as they followed after the professor.

"Nein," Kurt said, shaking his head as they followed the professor into his study.

"Please, sit," Professor Xavier said, gesturing to the two chairs in front of his desk.

"So," Kurt said, sitting down. "Um, what, exactly, is this about, Professor?"

"Yeah," Rogue said. "We didn't do anything wrong, did we?"

"No, of course not," Professor Xavier assured them both as he took his place behind his desk. "I actually wanted to talk to you about a young mutant girl living in Berlin, Germany."

"Oh," Kurt said, looking relieved. "Do you want me to go with you to pick her up – because we're both from Germany, I mean?"

"It's a bit more complicated than that, actually," Professor Xavier said, frowning.

"Complicated?" Rogue said. "How's that?"

"Well, you see," Professor Xavier said, leaning forward in his wheelchair, "this particular mutant is only four years old. She's a teleporter, who also displays pyrokinetic abilities."

"So you're saying that she can teleport," Kurt said slowly, "but she's a pyro as well?"

"But how is that even possible?" Rogue said before the professor had a chance to answer. "I mean, she's just a little girl. Her powers shouldn't be manifesting while she's still so young, should they?"

"While it is typical for most mutant powers to manifest themselves during puberty," Professor Xavier said, looking at Rogue, "I believe that the reason why this girl is developing so rapidly is probably because her parents –" he paused to look at Kurt "—are incredibly gifted mutants themselves."

"Her – her parents?" Kurt stammered as he sat rigid in his seat, completely unable to believe what he was hearing. He knew what the professor was trying to tell him. It all added up, but it wasn't possible – it couldn't be. It just wasn't possible.

"Yes, Kurt," Professor Xavier said still looking at Kurt, gauging his reaction. "Her parents. Would you like to see a picture?"

Kurt looked up at the professor, wide-eyed. "A picture?" he said uncertainly. "Of the girl, you mean?"

"Yes," Professor Xavier said, smiling at him comfortingly. "I have one here, and you may see it if you like."

"Give it to me," Kurt said, jumping to his feet. "Let me see it now."

Professor Xavier reached inside his desk and pulled out a large, color photograph. Kurt accepted the picture with shaking hands and sank back down into his chair.

"Oh, my god," Rogue gasped, looking at the picture over his shoulder.

"Yes," Professor Xavier said, nodding. "As you can see, she has been afflicted with a physical mutation as well."

Kurt looked up at him and then stared back down at the photograph in awe. It showed the close-up a girl's face. She was very young – probably no more than four or five as the professor had said. She was covered with thick, black fur, she had bright golden eyes, and her hair was blood-red shot through with streaks of bright yellow and black. It was her face that stunned Kurt the most, though. It was…He examined the picture more closely and was just able to make out the blurry image of a thin, black, barbed tail in the corner of the photo.

"Please, Professor?" Kurt said, looking up from the picture and at the professor. "Who is this girl – what is her name?"

"Her name, Kurt, is Mischa Wagner," Professor Xavier said, "and she is your daughter."

"She's his _what_?" Rogue said in shocked disbelief.

"My daughter," Kurt said in a quivering voice. He looked at the professor. "Then that would make –"

"Kiara Blaze her mother, yes," Professor Xavier said, nodding. "I am currently working on trying to obtain a copy of Mischa's birth certificate, but I'm not one-hundred percent sure she was born in a hospital. Even so, they may have laws against these kinds of things in Germany –"

"Wait a minute," Kurt said. "Is Kiara alright – she's with Mischa, isn't she? Are they together?"

"I would assume so," Professor Xavier said, "but I don't know for certain. Cerebro has still been unable to pick up on Kiara's signature, but I have been looking for her ever since I discovered Mischa."

"Who cares about Kiara?" Rogue said before Kurt could respond. She looked at her brother. "She's got a daughter that may be yours, and she's kept it from you for five years – well, then, screw her. Hell, we don't even know if this girl really is your daughter. She could just be someone who looks like you."

"You're kidding, right?" Kurt said, scowling at her. "She's got my eyes, my tail, my powers – you can't just explain all of that away, Rogue."

"Fine then," Rogue said angrily. "You want to be a daddy so damn badly?" She jabbed Kurt sharply in the chest as she spoke. "Then let's go to Germany, get a paternity test, and demand full custody – if she's really yours, that is."

"Which she is," Kurt said.

"Is that something you would like to do, Kurt?" Professor Xavier said as Rogue opened her mouth to retort. "If so, then you would probably need a lawyer."

"What?" Kurt said, looking at the professor. "You mean what she just said –" he gestured to Rogue "—I don't know. I need to be alone. I need some time to think."

Then he stood and teleported out of the room, taking the picture of his daughter with him.

Once Kurt was in his bedroom, he didn't bother checking to make sure that the door was closed. He stormed across the room to the desk where his computer was and pulled open the bottom drawer. Then he searched through it angrily until he found what he was looking for: A picture of him and Kiara, standing together in the hall that led to the grand staircase, kissing.

Kurt stared at the picture for a moment – taking in the kiss that Kitty had photographed five years ago – before he threw it down on his bed. Then he sank to his knees and placed the picture of Mischa next the picture of him and Kiara.

"This is why you left me?" Kurt said finally after a very long moment of silence. He focused only on the picture of Kiara as he spoke, blocking out the image of his fifteen-year-old self. "Because you got pregnant? Why didn't you tell me – I could have helped you. I could have helped you take care of her – she's just as much mine as she is yours! What makes you think you have the right to keep her from me?"

"Uh, Kurt?"

Kurt looked up to see Bobby Drake standing in his doorway.

It was then that Kurt realized that he was on his feet, panting heavily, and that he had been shouting at the top of his lungs only a moment earlier.

"Are you okay, man?" Bobby said, letting himself in and closing the door behind him. "I could hear you shouting from down the hall."

Kurt stared at Bobby, who had been the last person to speak with Kiara before she left and a strange sense of jealousy rose up inside him. After a long moment of silence, Kurt sighed and said, "Yes, I'm fine, Bobby."

"Yeah?" Bobby said. "So who were you yelling at….?" His voice trailed off as his eyes fell on the picture of Mischa. He snatched it off the bed and stared at it, shocked. "Kurt, who is this girl – she looks just like you."

"Her name is Mischa Wagner," Kurt said, taking the picture from him. "And, apparently, she's my daughter, but she's living in Germany with her _loving_ mother."

"Her mother?" Bobby said. "You don't mean – Kurt, is Kiara Blaze this girl's mom?"

Kurt nodded. "She is," he said, picking up the picture of him and Kiara. "I just don't understand why she never told me. I mean, I would have helped her – I want to help her take care of our daughter…" His voice trailed off as he stared down at the picture of Kiara.

The two of them stood awkwardly for a moment. Then Bobby sighed and said,"Look, Kurt, when Kiara left five years ago, she told me she had to go because something bad had happened and she didn't want you to be a part of it. I think that, maybe, she was just trying not to force into something you weren't ready for. She probably thought you were better off not knowing. Does that help at all?"

"Nein," Kurt said, shaking his head. "Mischa is my daughter and nothing gives Kiara the right to keep her from me." He looked up at Bobby. "I mean, I missed everything because of Kiara – Mischa's first words, her first steps. I should have been there for all that and because of her mother, I wasn't."

"Are you serious?" Bobby said in a tone of angry disbelief. "You were only fifteen – twos year older than I was. You weren't ready for a daughter – and listen, Kurt, you didn't see Kiara's face the day she left here. She was heartbroken. She didn't want to leave the Institute, but I really think that she left because she _your _best interests at heart and you can't hate her for that."

Then Bobby turned and left the room, slamming the door behind him.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do now own the X-Men.

Chapter 4

That afternoon, Kurt stayed locked in his room and refused all visitors. At some point during the day, he dug out the note Kiara had left for him on the day she had left five years ago. He sank to the floor in front of his bed and reread it silently:

_Dear Kurt,_

_I'm so sorry for leaving you like this after all that you've done for me. But something really bad has happened, and I refuse to let you get involved right away. _

_Because I love you, and I don't want to ruin your life. _

_Please, forgive me, and try to remember that I'll always love you more than anything in the world. No matter what._

_Yours always,_

_Kiara Blaze._

_Ich liebe Sie._

Kurt stared down at the note and reread Kiara's words over and over again. It wasn't until he had read it several times that he started to notice all of the imperfections: Kiara's handwriting, which appeared perfect and beautiful at first glance, was – in this note – cramped and messy. It wasn't at all like her usual style of writing. It seemed to suggest, to Kurt, that if she had just written the note and given it to him fast, she would never have had to think about it again. She'd never have had to think about leaving Kurt again, and she'd never have had to think about the pregnancy again. Until the baby had been born, anyway.

Kurt looked down at the note again and realized that its contents matched Bobby's words exactly without hinting at the pregnancy. Bobby was right. Kiara had only been trying to look out for Kurt when she left, but that didn't change the fact that she had done it in such a wrong way.

Later that night, Kurt lay silently in bed, unable to sleep. He thought back to Kiara's behavior during the days just before she left the mansion. She had seemed constantly depressed and fragile to even the slightest touch.

Kurt had assumed, at the time, that it was because she had just faced her first real battle and because she had found out the truth about her father only a few days earlier. Kurt had assumed that she would get better in time.

Then, every time he closed his eyes, Kurt saw her. He saw Kiara looking scared and confused when her period was late. He saw her stealing a pregnancy test from Jean's bedroom because she was too embarrassed to go buy one on her own and too scared to tell Kurt the truth. Then he saw her, sitting in her bed late one night, crying as the pen shook in her hand and she forced herself to write the note that would bring their relationship to an end.

And the thought that intruded Kurt's mind over and over again as he lay awake in bed long past midnight was that Kiara had had to go through that all on her own. She had been alone in those moments when she needed him the most.

Kurt stood up and walked across the room to his computer desk. He grabbed the picture of him and Kiara off the desk and stared down at it.

"How could you have made such an enormous mistake?" Kurt said as he stared down at the picture of Kiara. "I know you're smarter than what you did. I mean, didn't you know that you should have been thinking about yourself when you found out? Didn't you know that you should been have worrying about our baby and not about me? Didn't you know that you shouldn't have been worrying about the things I would have had to give up? I wouldn't have minded. I still wouldn't mind giving up those things, but if we had raised Mischa together, that's what would have been best for all of us. Why couldn't you see that then? Why didn't you just let me help you through all of it?"

Kurt sank down into his swivel chair, knowing the answer to his questions and hating himself for it.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I do not own the X-Men.

Chapter 5

The next morning, Kurt, Kitty, Lance, Rogue, Jean, and Scott all sat the kitchen table together to rereading Kiara's note to Kurt and examining the close-up shot of Mischa Wagner.

"So let me, like, get this straight," Kitty said as she stared down at the picture of Mischa. "This adorable little girl is your daughter –" She glanced at Kurt "—and Kiara Blaze left here five years ago so you wouldn't have to, like, deal with the hardships of teen parenthood?"

"That sounds about right," Kurt said, nodding and smiling grimly.

"Okay," Kitty said, throwing Mischa's picture down on the table. "I don't whether or not I should really, really hate Kiara or just feel really, really sorry for her." She sounded conflicted.

"Feel sorry for her?" Rogue said in a tone that was clearly questioning Kitty's sanity. "Y'all don't have no reason to feel sorry for Kiara. She brought this on herself. She _chose _to be a single mom. Kurt would have gladly helped her take care of Mischa – if she was his."

"Would you just drop that already?" Kurt said, scowling at her. "Mischa is my daughter. There are too many similarities between us to deny it, so you might as well stop trying to."

"Look," Jean said quickly before Rogue had the chance to respond. "Clearly, Kiara did not handle the situation the way that she should have, but her note proves that she only left because she thought it's what would have been best for Kurt." She handed the five-year-old note back to Kurt while Scott nodded in agreement beside her.

"Exactly," Kurt said, shoving the note in his pocket, "and as much as I wish she had handled it differently, getting mad at her now isn't going to do anyone any good."

"Which explains all the yelling you were doing yesterday," Lance said, taking a sip of coffee. He looked up at Kurt. "Have you decided how_ you're _going to handle all this?"

"I think I'm going to talk to the professor and see when we can head over to Germany," Kurt said, ignoring Lance's prior comment. "Once I'm there, I'm going to talk to Kiara, convince her to let me see Mischa, and probably try to talk both of them into coming back to the Institute, so that Mischa can learn to handle her powers properly."

"And what if Kiara decides she doesn't want you involved?" Scott asked him.

"Then we're going to need a paternity test and a lawyer," Rogue said before Kurt had a chance to answer.

Then, just as Kurt opened his mouth to respond, Professor Xavier's voice sounded inside their minds:

'Everyone, please, come to the living. There's something I think you should see, especially you, Kurt.'

"I wonder what it is," Kurt said, getting to his feet.

"It can't be any worse than what he told us yesterday," Rogue said as they all walked out of the kitchen and down the hall to the living room.

When they got there, they found it crowded with almost all of the students – the only ones missing were the ones who had gone home to their families for summer vacation – and all the teachers.

Kurt glanced down at the television and saw that it had been paused half-way through the mid-morning news report.

"Kurt," Professor Xavier said from his spot in the corner of the room, "I must ask you to remain calm when you see this." He hit the "Play" button on the DVR and Kurt turned his attention back to the television.

"In international news," said the blonde news reporter on the screen, "a young mutant girl named Mischa Wagner living in Berlin, Germany was reportedly kidnapped by a teenaged mutant girl of unknown name and origin. When interviewed last, this is what Mischa's grandfather Father Viktor Krauste had to say on the situation."

An elderly old man dressed in a priest's robe appeared, speaking with an English voice-over:

"The woman who kidnapped my granddaughter was clearly a mutant. She looked like the Angel of Death, only with dragon wings and scales. I think that she had the ability to breathe fire as well because when she broke into my house two nights ago and demanded I give Mischa to her, she said she would burn down my house if I did not. I think the woman may have been drawn to Mischa because of their similar abilities. We had only just discovered that she had the ability to teleport and create fire. I can't think of why else the woman would have wanted Mischa…"

The interview was cut off and the camera flashed back to the blonde news reporter who said, "German policemen, however, are reluctant to believe Krauste's story. Neighbors say that they had no idea a young girl was living with the Krauste family. Some also claim that the Kraustes were known to have kept a mutant servant girl on hand who matches the given description of Mischa's kidnapper. A police search of the Krauste home also turned up a fifth attic bedroom that neighbors claim not to have known about. But the 11x11 foot room was found locked from the inside with the window open and the floor of the room was covered with the tattered clothes of a young girl and several other garments that were sized to fit a young woman. Despite the fact that Father Viktor Krauste and his wife Agatha Krauste deny the existence of the mutant servant girl, Mutants' Rights activists from around the world demand to know: Where were Mischa Wagner's birth parents at the time of the kidnapping? Why are they not available for questioning now? If the women's clothing found in the attic bedroom does not belong to a young mutant slave girl, _who _do they belong to? And what is the Kraustes actual relation to Mischa Wagner, if any? Here is an artist's rendering of Mischa Wagner and the mysterious young woman who some say tore a young girl away from a loving family and who others believe to be Mischa Wagner's savior."

Professor Xavier paused the news report again when the screen flashed to two hand-drawn portraits of two people who were obviously Mischa Wagner and the girl Kurt remember as Kiara Blaze, although she now appeared to be in a much worse state than the one she had been in five years ago.


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I do not own the X-Men.

A/N Alright, I know I usually post these at the end of the chapters, but I just wanted to take this time to thank everyone for reading and for all of your kind reviews. If it weren't for you, this story probably would have been deleted by now just as the original was. I would also like to apologize ahead of time for all the use of foreign language in this chapter, but given their location and where Mischa was born and raised, it only seems natural that they don't speak English 100% of the time. Also, I would like you guys to note that, most of the time, whenever Kiara and Mischa are speaking to each other, they're really speaking German. Not English. I just decided not to translate all of their convos to German because, let's face it, it'd been a pain in the a$$ for both me and any reader who can't speak German. Thank you guys again. Hope you enjoy this chapter.

Chapter 6

Lisbon, Portugal

It was well past midnight. The air was cold and damp with the smell of salt from the nearby ocean and a recent storm. Kiara hated the idea of touching down on the ground below because she knew that there was a good chance it would still be wet and the water would burn mercilessly at the soles of her feet, but she also knew that she had no choice. She had been flying constantly for two days now – always in the darkest shadows of the clouds, no matter what the hour – and the time for rest had finally come. So she flapped her wings and held onto Mischa tightly as she pulled out of a downward spiral. She landed silently in a small garbage-strewn ally that seemed to fall between a bar and an ancient, abandoned house. She set Mischa down on her feet and sank to her knees, grateful that the ground was only damp and not wet so it did not burn her feet as much.

"Are you alright, Mama?" Mischa asked, gripping the handles of the duffle bag tightly with her three-fingered hands.

Kiara nodded. "It's just that I haven't flown this far or that fast in a very long time," she said, panting heavily. She thought, for a moment, about grabbing her old uniform out of the duffle bag because she knew she would probably feel much safer in its well-worn, water-proof. Then she quickly reconsidered the idea because she knew that the colors would make her stand out too much.

Mischa nodded and sat down next to her mother, leaning her head against her shoulder. Kiara suddenly realized how grateful she was that her daughter was not affected by water in the same way that she herself was. This whole trip probably would have been ten times more difficult than it already was if it did.

"Hey, you – _menina_(1)!"

Kiara looked up to see a dark-haired, middle-aged woman standing at the opposite end of the ally. Kiara immediately jumped to her feet and pulled Mischa into her arms protectively, causing her to drop the duffle bag, which fell to the ground with a dull thump.

"It's alright," the woman said with a very thick, Portuguese accent. "Calm down. Don't worry. I'm not going to turn you in."

"Turn me in?" Kiara said, narrowing her eyes in confusion. "What would you do that for?" She set Mischa back down on her feet, but still held her protectively in her grasp.

Mischa stared at the Portuguese woman curiously. While they had been living in Berlin, she had only been outside the house once to go to church, but the people there had rejected her and her mother. Father Viktor had quickly decided that it would be best if they did not return. After that, Mischa had always been kept in their room whenever company was over. She was told to keep quiet and play with the stuffed lemur that had once belonged with her mother because Father Viktor had said, "While it is acceptable to keep one mutant slave about, you will often be ridiculed for having any more than that…"

"Don't you know anything?" the woman said, looking surprised. "You have been accused of kidnapping that little girl." She gestured to Mischa.

"Kidnapped?" Kiara said, shocked. "Mischa is my daughter."

"_Sim_(2)," the woman said. "That's what I thought. Luckily for you, people aren't stupid and you have a lot of people on your side. Where are you going?"

Kiara stared at the woman, hesitantly. Then, after a moment, she looked down at Mischa and said, "_Vertrauen Sie ihr_(3)?"

Mischa looked up at her mother and said, "_Sie scheint nett_(4)."

Kiara nodded. She looked back up at the strange woman and said, "Mischa is going to live with her father. In New York."

The woman reached inside her pocket and pulled out a folded up sheet of paper. "Here," she said, giving it to Kiara. "Follow that map to the docks. You'll find a man called Zorion Alegrio. He's the captain of a cargo ship, who escorts mutants to America from time to time. His ship is called The Glaucia. He'll get you to New York."

"We don't have any money, though," Kiara said, feeling confused by the woman's generosity.

"You don't have to worry about that," the woman assured her. "He's on your side. He'll get you there for free."

The woman turned and started to walk away.

"Wait!" Kiara called after her, causing her to turn and face them again. "Why are you helping us?"

"Because your daughter deserves a chance to survive," the woman said, gesturing to Mischa. "And, somehow, I don't see that happening if I turn you in."

Kiara stared at the woman, unsure of what to say. Then Mischa, who had been fidgeting quietly for the past couple of minutes, broke free of her mother's grasp and ran to the woman.

"_Vielen dank_(5)," Mischa said, hugging the strange woman. She pulled away and looked up at her. "For help Mama."

"_Voce e bastante bem-vindo, pouco um_(6)," the woman said, smiling. She patted Mischa on the head. Then her smile faded as she looked up at Kiara. "A girl like your daughter is going to need all the help she can get in a world like this."

Then the woman turned and left, leaving Kiara and Mischa alone together in the damp, dark ally.

Menina - Portuguese for "Girl".

Sim - Portuguese for "Yes".

Vertrauen Sie ihr – German for "Do you trust her?"

Sie scheint nett – German for "She seems nice."

Vielen dank – German for "Thank you".

Voce e bastante bem-vindo, pouco um – It's supposed to be Portuguese for "You're quite welcome, little one", but I couldn't get my computer to do the little accent marks above the E's, so I really, REALLY hope it doesn't mean anything offensive.


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I do not own the X-Men.

Chapter 7

The Xavier Institute

Bayville, New York

Kurt stood silently in Professor Xavier's study along with the other members of the senior squad, who had all been called there to discuss the news report they had seen earlier that day. Kurt was still shocked to have seen Kiara's face – which was now withering and skeletal – on the news for kidnapping of all things. Several hours had passed since he had seen the report, but her face still haunted him. He had had no idea that she had been living such a horrible life, and he had wanted to discuss it with the professor right away, but Professor Xavier had decided to wait so it wouldn't raise too much commotion among the younger students.

"Alright, then," Professor Xavier said, looking at them all from behind his desk. "I believe we all now understand the basics of what Kiara Blaze has been through, during these last five years."

"I'm actually still a bit confused," Kitty said sheepishly. "You wouldn't mind, like, explaining things, would you?"

Kurt looked at her, feeling surprised that she had been unable to put the puzzle together on her own. He had understood right away the sort of life Kiara had been living until quite recently. He didn't want to believe it, but he knew it must have been true. There were only so many options, after all, for mutants who weren't living in America where the enslavement of mutants was now illegal.

"Well," Professor Xavier said, sighing. "It would seem, Kitty, that once she arrived in Germany, Kiara had no choice but to succumb to the mutant slave trade, which takes place in some parts of Europe."

"Yes," Beast said. "I can't help but wonder, though - why would Kiara go to a place where she knew she would be persecuted in such a way?"

"It is possible that Kiara never knew about the mutant slave trade until she was already in Germany," Professor Xavier said speculatively.

"That's probably what happened," Kurt said, nodding. "I mean, I never mentioned it to her and I doubt she had learned about it in school back then."

"Yeah," Rogue said, looking at him, "but she still should have known not to go there after all the stories you told her."

"I believe," Professor Xavier said, "that given her feelings towards Kurt, Kiara chose to go to Germany because she thought it would help Mischa develop a stronger connection with her father. Then once she was there, Kiara succumbed to the enslavement because she knew it would provide a home for her child."

Rogue opened her mouth to speak, then thought better of it after she saw the warning look Kurt was giving her.

"What I don't understand," Logan said, leaning against a tall bookshelf in the back of the room, "is why Blaze's employers –" he made air quotes around the word " – are claiming Mischa as their granddaughter when they really aren't related to her at all."

"Well," Beast said, "we can guess why that may be. It is possible that they truly cared about her."

"But given the description of the room Mischa shared with her mother," Professor Xavier said, frowning at the thought, "and the secrecy surrounding her very existence, it's probably more likely that they were hoping to use her for her own purposes."

"That must be why Kiara finally left," Ororo said thoughtfully. "She had no problem being used herself, but she refused to let it happen to her daughter."

"Alright, that's it," Kurt snapped, suddenly unable to bear the thought of the kinds of things those people might have been using Kiara and Mischa for. He started pacing angrily across the room. "We have to go out and look for them. I mean, we have no idea where they are or where they're going. Mischa could be sick and Kiara would probably die if they got caught in the rain – "

"Please, calm down, Kurt," Professor Xavier said. "I'm sure that once you do, you will find that we are quite unable to go look for them."

"Yeah," Jean said, reaching out and putting her hand on Kurt's shoulder, which caused him to stop pacing. "You just said so yourself – we don't know where they are or where they're going. So it really is just a little bit more than difficult for us to find them." She smiled apologetically.

"It is reasonable to assume, however," Professor Xavier said, causing everyone in the room to turn and look at him once again, "that they are more than likely on their way here."

"What makes you say that?" Scott asked him.

"Well," Professor Xavier said, "Mischa's powers have just begun to manifest, and Kiara is in need of a home for her child and someone willing to look after her. By bringing Mischa here, she would not only find a home, but also her father as well. What other place could be more suitable for her child than this, to Kiara?"

There was a long pause, and Kurt could tell that everyone present was silently agreeing that the professor was probably right. He usually was, and his reasoning did make more sense than any other path Kiara could choose to follow.

"I wonder when they'll be here by," Kitty said, causing everyone to look at her.

"We can only guess," Professor Xavier said. "In the meantime, however, I think it would be best if we told the media what we knew." He looked at Kurt, who stared back at him in shocked disbelief.


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I do not own the X-Men.

A/N: I would just like to take this time to apologize for making you guys wait so long for the next chapter. Unfortunately, I was faced with writers' block like you cannot even begin to comprehend. On the plus side, however, being away from the story gave me lots of time to plan my next move and re-invent plot twists and such. I am only truly sorry that it took me this long to figure out how to put it all into words. I appreciate your continued support and I hope you enjoy the chapter. R&R please.

Chapter 8

Lisbon, Portugal

Kiara stood silently at the base of the gangplank of a large, steel ship that was quite easily bigger than any house she had ever set foot in. She gripped Mischa's hand tightly as she stared down at the murky, green ocean water just beneath the dock. Suddenly, she felt sick and she tightened her hold on the duffle bag she held in her other hand.

"Look, Mama," Mischa said, pointing out the name written on the side of the ship. "The Glaucia –"

"Mischa, be quiet," Kiara said, kneeling down and clapping her hand over her daughter's mouth. She looked at Mischa apologetically. "Just because the owner of this ship is kind towards mutants, that doesn't mean everyone will be."

Mischa nodded silently to show that she understood.

"Good," Kiara said, taking her hand away from Mischa's mouth. She looked up and down the dock silently.

Only a few minutes had passed since a middle-aged woman had instructed them to find the ship called The Glaucia owned by Zorion Alegrio. Not much had happened. It had been easy enough for Kiara to find the ship using the map the woman had given to her, but the fog had begun to roll in through the city streets and she was afraid of it getting too close. She already knew that water could hurt her, but she didn't feel much like experimenting with vaporized water.

"You there!"

Kiara looked to up to see a tall white man with a long brown ponytail and dark brown eyes walking towards them. She threw the bag she held on the ground, stepped in front of Mischa, and assumed a defensive stance with her wings spread wide, hiding her daughter from view as fire immediately rose in her throat at the sight of the strange man.

Mischa poked her head out from behind her mother's wing to get a better look at the strange man.

The man paused at the sight of them, a look of uncertainty on his face as he took in their appearance. Then a light of recognition flashed in his eyes, and Kiara realized that he must have recognized them from some news report or other. She wondered vaguely how many people exactly were aware of what happened back in Germany. She wondered if Mischa's father knew.

"Ola, my name is Pero Bauto," the man said with a thick Portuguese accent as he approached them. "I am a crew member of The Glaucia. Is there anything that I can help you with?" He spoke as though he already knew to his question.

"_Glaubst du, er vertrauen kann, warden Mama_(1)?" Mischa said, looking up at her mother.

Kiara looked down at her daughter and expression softened to one of sad reluctance. _"Ich glaube nicht, dass wir eine Wahl haben_(2)," she said quietly. She returned her attention to Pero and continued in English. "My name is Kiara Blaze and this is my daughter Mischa." She gestured to Mischa. "We're here to see Mr. Zorion Alegrio."

"Ah, _sim_(3)," Pero said, smiling. "Please, come aboard. Caption Alegrio will be most pleased to see you." He started off up the gangplank.

Kiara stared hesitantly again at the murky ocean waters for a moment before she grabbed the duffle bag off the ground and took Mischa in her arms. She carried her reluctantly up the gangplank. Ever since she had nearly drowned while she was younger, she had developed a deep-rooted hatred for anything that even floated on water and that hatred grown further still due to the number of water-related chores she had had to do while living with the Kraustes. By this point in her life, her bare hands had been exposed to water so many times she would not even be able to feel the water burning them anymore. Sadly, the same could not be said for the rest of her.

"Please," Pero said once Kiara and Mischa were aboard the rusty cargo ship. "Follow me to my cabin."

Kiara nodded and followed him below the deck, still carrying Mischa and the duffle bag in her arms. They walked down a long narrow hallway lined with closed doors. Then they paused outside the second-to-last room, the door to which had been left ajar, revealing a well-lit room with white metal walls and two bunk beds.

"You'll have to excuse the mess," Pero said, pushing the door all the way open. "I try to keep it clean, but I have roommates…" His voice trailed off as he smiled apologetically.

"It's fine," Kiara said, carrying Mischa into the room and setting her down on the floor. She was glad to see that the room was empty. She could only imagine the things the other crewmembers would say to her.

"Where is your roommates now, Herr Pero?" Mischa said, turning to face Pero.

"They are in another part of the ship playing cards with some friends," Pero said to her, smiling. "You know, you sure do speak English well for a little girl from Germany."

"Mama taught me," Mischa said, smiling at him and revealing a mouthful of perfectly pointed fangs.

Pero frowned, looking slightly off-put by this.

"Nein, Mischa," Kiara said, catching sight of his expression. She grabbed Mischa by the shoulder and pulled her towards her, hiding her face in her abdomen.

Mischa looked up at her, frowning. "But why Mama?" she said, sounding hurt.

"If these people agree to take us to America, we'll be at their mercy, Mischa," Kiara told Mischa, carefully tucking a strand of her blood-red hair behind one of her pointed elf ears. "We must be careful not to frighten them with our…Abilities."

"It's fine, _senhorita_," Pero said quickly, smiling politely. "I was merely taken aback, that's all. Please, wait here while I fetch the captain."

"Thank you," Kiara said, smiling as he turned to leave.

"You are most welcome," Pero said as he left the room.

Kiara threw the duffle bag on the floor and collapsed onto the nearest bed. She pulled the bag towards her and unzipped it.

"What are you doing, Mama?" Mischa said as she watched her mother root through the bag.

"Looking for something," Kiara said. Then she paused and looked up at Mischa. "Close the door."

"Ja, Mama," Mischa said, crossing the room and the slamming the door shut.

"Not so loud, Mischa," Kiara said, cringing as the sound of the door slamming echoed loudly throughout the ship. "There are people sleeping, you know."

"I'm sorry," Mischa said, sighing and sitting down on the lower bunk of the bed directly across from the one her mother sat on.

"It's fine," Kiara said as she went back to digging through the duffle bag. "Just try to be quiet."

Mischa lay down, pressing her head against an ancient and deflated pillow and nodded silently.

A minute or two later Kiara found what she had been looking for –

A long, filthy ragged dress turquoise in color with a tattered white ribbon that tied in the back and an even filthier, mud-brown hooded cloak with several holes in the hemline.

"Come here, Mischa," Kiara said, setting the clothes down on the bed. She closed the duffle bag and set back down on the floor. "I want you to change your clothes before the captain gets here."

"But I don't want to wear those clothes now," Mischa whined from her spot in the bed she had adopted as her own. "Those are the clothes I was going to wear when we went to meet Vati."

"Please, Mischa," Kiara said pleadingly. "You can still wear them then. I just want you to look nice for when you meet the captain."

"Well, why don't you have to change your clothes?" Mischa asked, sitting up in bed.

"I didn't bring any of my clothes with us," Kiara told her. "They're all back at Father Viktor's house."

Mischa thought for a moment before she hopped off the bed and crossed the room to where her mother was. "Alright," she said as she began to get changed quickly.

"Thank you, Mischa," Kiara said, smiling gratefully. "_Ich liebe Sie_(4)."

"_Ich liebe Sie auch_(5)," Mischa said as she pulled the turquoise dress on over her head. She paused when she came to the hooded cloak. She looked up at her mother. "What's this for?"

"To keep you warm," Kiara said, leaning forward and putting the cloak on her. "I doubt they'll give us blankets here."

As she did so, the door to the room opened and a tall man with greying hair and beard stood in the doorway. He wore a light grey suit with a walkie-talkie attached to his belt and a clip-on tie. Normally, Kiara would have rushed to defend her daughter, but she could tell from the way this man carried himself that he must been the ship's captain and judging from the look on his face, he already been forewarned about their appearance.

Or he had seen them before.

"Ola," the man said. "I am Captain Zorion Alegrio. Mr. Bauto alerted me of your presence."

"Herr Alegrio," Kiara said, jumping to her feet. "My name is Kiara Blaze, and this my –"

"Your daughter, yes," Captain Alegrio said, smiling at Mischa. "Mischa Wagner, I believe her name is." He looked up at Kiara. "As I said, Mr. Bauto alerted me of your presence here on my ship."

Kiara frowned, looking embarrassed. "I'm – I'm sorry?" she said uncertainly.

"It's fine," Captain Alegrio said, smiling gently at her. "Now, please, sit and tell me where you're headed. I promise to take you as far as I can."

"Thank you," Kiara said, returning to her place on the nearby bunk bed. She grabbed Mischa and pulled her into her lap. "I'm taking Mischa to live with her father in New York. Bayville, New York to be exact."

"Ah, New York," Captain Alegrio said, sitting down in the bed where Mischa had been sitting a moment ago. "In America. You are in luck then."

"Does that mean you'll be able to take us?" Kiara said, looking hopeful.

"I can take you as far as New York City," Captain Alegrio told her, frowning. "To the Port of New York and New Jersey, but I'm afraid you'll have to find your own way to Bayville."

"That's fine," Kiara said almost laughing because she was so grateful to hear this news. "That's more than fine. Bayville is only a few hours from New York City. I can fly the rest way there." She hugged Mischa happily.

"Well, that's good," Captain Alegrio said, "but during the time you spend here aboard The Glaucia, I'm afraid your quarters will be less than glamorous." He looked around the messy room they were in, which was strewn with blankets and dirty laundry, and sighed. "Even more so than this."

"You mean this isn't our room?" Mischa asked him, speaking for the first time in five minutes.

"I'm afraid not," Captain Alegrio said, frowning at her. "You and your mother will be sleeping in the cargo hold below deck."

"The cargo hold?" Mischa said, looking at Kiara. "Mama, what's that?"

"It's where they keep all the shipping crates and cargo and stuff," Kiara told her.

"Oh," Mischa said, frowning. She thought for a moment before adding, "Well, as long as it's bigger than our room at Father Viktor's, I'll be happy."

"Oh, trust me, my dear," Captain Alegrio said, laughing. "The cargo hold on this ship is much bigger than the tiny space that foul man kept you in." He got his feet and started to leave the room. "Come, I'll show you the way."

Kiara stood up, carrying Mischa and grabbed the duffle bag off the floor. "Captain Alegrio," she said, following after him.

"Yes?" Captain Alegrio said, turning face her.

"I just wanted to thank you for this," Kiara told him, frowning embarrassedly. "Mischa needs to be with her father, and I don't even want to think about what might have happened to her if you hadn't allowed us passage aboard your ship so…" She looked away from him. "Thank you."

"Senhorita," Captain Alegrio said, reaching out and putting his hand on her shoulder, which caused her to look up at him. "The only thanks I need is the satisfaction of knowing that that little girl –" he nodded at Mischa " – makes it to a safe home."

1) _Glaubst du, er vertrauen kann, warden Mama - _German for, "Do you think he can be trusted, Mama?"

2) _Ich glaube nicht, dass wir eine Wahl haben - _German for, "I don't think we have a choice."

3) _Sim _- Portuguese for, "Yes."

4)_ Ich liebe Sie _- German for, "I love you."

5) _Ich liebe Sie auch - _German for, " I love you, too."


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I do not own the X-Men.

Chapter 9

The Xavier Institute

Bayville, New York

"Oh, God." Kurt backed away from the ever encroaching crowd of news reporters who had flocked grounds of the Xavier Institute ever since he had contacted the police to alert them that he and Professor Xavier had information to offer about Mischa Wagner.

"Now, Kurt," Professor Xavier said, smiling, "it's only natural that these people are going to want some answers and we have to give them to them. It's the only way they'll know the truth."

"Yes, I know," Kurt said, frowning. He stepped forward hesitantly, but still ignored the reporters' on-going babble of questions. He wasn't sure if he could do this. The interview with the police had been easy, but this was going to be aired on national television. He could see the cameras from he where he stood.

"Professor Xavier," a small blonde female reporter said who seemed to have decided that she was going to get no answers of out Kurt. "Can you please offer us some clue about what's going on – why, exactly, have we been called here?"

Professor Xavier opened his mouth to speak, but Kurt quickly stepped in front of him and said, "I can answer that." He looked apologetically at the professor. "I'm sorry, Professor, but it only seems right that I'm the one to tell them."

"Tell us what exactly, Mr. Wagner?" the reporter said, sounding both relieved that he was finally ready to answer their questions and irritated that he was answering a question that was not meant for him.

Kurt turned to face her and said, "Earlier this week, we contacted the Bayville police department to tell them that we had information about Mischa Wagner."

The reporter looked at him with raised eyebrows as the others began scribbling in their notebooks furiously. "Mischa Wagner?" she said skeptically. "The young _mutant _girl reported kidnapped from Germany – how could you possibly have any information about her?" She said the word "mutant" as though it were a filthy swear word.

"Well, you see," Kurt said, frowning as he spoke because he knew how odd it was all going to sound coming from him. "Mischa Wagner wasn't actually kidnapped, and she's not actually related to the Kraustes at all."

"And you know this, how, Mr. Wagner?" the reporter asked him, narrowing her eyes in disbelief as the other reporters around her continued to take notes.

"I know this," Kurt said, looking at her, "because I know the woman who supposedly kidnapped Mischa Wagner."

"You know the woman who kidnapped Mischa Wagner?" the reporter said, truly shocked now. "Are you in contact with her – have you spoken with her at all?"

"No, I haven't spoken to her in five years," Kurt said, "but I _do _know who she is and I know her very well. Better than anyone knows her, probably." He sank down to front steps of the porch, pressing his back against the front door of the mansion. He felt the professor reach out and put his hand on his shoulder.

Cameras began snapping immediately. Why, he did not know. Perhaps, it was because the scene was particularly touching. He tried to shrug it off.

"Well, then who is she?" the blonde reporter demanded, moving directly in front of Kurt and ignoring the cameras that were going off.

"Her name," Kurt said, looking up at her sadly, "is Kiara Blaze."

Immediately, the reporters began shouting questions at him, but he only bothered paying attention to the ones coming from the woman directly in front of him.

"Kiara Blaze?" the reporter asked him. "The girl who was reported missing from this institute five years ago and never heard from again?"

"Exactly," Kurt said. "She is Mischa's mother. She was saving Mischa from the Kraustes, not kidnapping her."

"Kiara Blaze is Mischa Wagner's mother?" the reporter said, sounding skeptical once again. "How could that possibly be true – both Mischa and her kidnapper were reported to be mutants. Kiara Blaze is a human."

"That's not true," Kurt told her. At this point, he nodded at the professor so that he would know to start the invasion of the minds of the people in front of them. It would keep them from asking too many questions. "When Kiara Blaze first came here, she had the ability to breathe fire –"

"Does that mean that Kiara was responsible for the house fire that killed her father?" the reporter demanded.

"Nein," Kurt said, scowling at her, even though he knew that that was exactly what had happened, but the way this woman said it – the tone of her voice – she made it sound as though Kiara was some kind of murdering monster. As though she suspected Kiara had done it on purpose. "Of course not. Kiara spent months grieving her father. She would never do something to hurt someone!"

"We have reports from the Jameson, California fire department, which state that that house fire was started by one of her father's own lit cigarettes," Professor Xavier said, intervening as the reporter opened her mouth to speak. "Our notes on Kiara Blaze suggest that her mutant powers did not manifest until just after she discovered the house fire that had claimed her father's life. In other words, they manifested as a result of stress and as an essential part of her grieving process."

"Yes, but the mutant who kidnapped Mischa was said to have the distinct appearance of a dragon lady," the reporter countered, turning her attention to Professor Xavier. "Kiara Blaze has the appearance an ordinary human girl."

"Or at least she did when we last saw her," Professor Xavier said, smiling grimly. "You see, it is our belief that Kiara Blaze left the Xavier Institute after she found out she was pregnant, but was not physically effected by her mutation until she was either well into her pregnancy or after Mischa was born due to the high number of hormones produced her body."

"I see," the reporter said, nodding. "Why, exactly, then was all information kept from the general public? Were the police notified of Kiara Blaze's fire-breathing powers when she went missing?"

"Indeed they were," Professor Xavier said, nodding. "Although, we did ask them to leave that out of the news reports because, you see, while she was here, Kiara did not wish for the public to know about her mutant powers, so at that time, we were doing nothing more than respecting her wishes until she herself felt ready to come out as a mutant. After she went missing, the police agreed with us that it would be best to leave out that tidbit of information out of the news reports just in case any anti-mutant activists should happen across her, but, yes, you will find her powers noted in the police department's files on her."

And they would, too. Professor Xavier had had Forge hack into police department's files and update them to include Kiara's fire-breathing powers, but not her flying ability or her dragon-like appearance, while he had modified their memories during their visit to the mansion earlier in the week.

"Well, that all seems to make sense," the reporter said. She turned her attention back to Kurt. "But, then, how exactly do you tie into all this, Mr. Wagner? That is to say, how do you know Kiara Blaze?"

"Well, other than the fact that we lived here and went to school together," Kurt said, sighing as he looked up at the reporter, "Kiara Blaze is my ex-girlfriend and Mischa Wagner –" he took a deep breath " – is my daughter."

The cameras went off again, and the reporters were actually screaming questions at him, begging him to answer, but the short blonde woman standing in front of him did not look surprised. "How is this possible, though, Mr. Wagner?" she asked him. "Mischa looks nothing like you –"

At that moment, Kurt jumped to his feet, wishing that he could – now more than ever – rip his image inducer off and reveal his true form to everyone there. He would never allow someone to question the fact that Mischa was his daughter ever again. "That's not true," he said angrily, and the professor opened a manila folder he had been holding in his lap and handed him a sheet of paper. It was an artist's rendering of Mischa's face. Kurt had wanted to use the photograph the professor had given to him, but explaining how they had managed to get a satellite photograph of Mischa without the proper equipment would only lead to further questioning. That was not something the Institute could afford. "I printed this off the internet. Look at it, and tell me she doesn't look like me!" He shoved the paper in the reporter's face. "Look at the shape of her eyes – they're just like mine, and she has my nose and my ears." He pushed his hair behind his ears to reveal their elf-like appearance, which matched that of Mischa's. "Mischa Wagner is my daughter, and I think that Kiara has finally decided that it's time for her to come to home to me where she belongs. If Viktor Krauste wants to challenge that – if he wants to lie and claim to be her grandfather – then let him. I know my rights, and one way or another Mischa will come home with me. I'll take whatever tests the courts want me to take, but in the end, I will have my daughter."

Kurt turned and made his way back inside the mansion. "Excuse me, Professor," he said as he stepped inside the foyer, leaving Professor Xavier to tend to the media.

A/N: I would like to take this time to again apologize for taking so long to update, but I truly feel as though now I know my characters and I know the show's cast of characters better than ever, and in the end what's most important to me is that I stay in character while I'm writing, especially with Kurt. I promise I'm gonna try to have chapter 10 up by the end of the week if not before then, but I'm not 100% certain I'll be able to. I promise I'm going to try, though, so in the mean time, keep reading, keep reviewing and I'll keep on writing.

Thank you again for your support, and I hope you enjoyed the chapter. R&R, please.


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: I do not own the X-Men.

A/N: I would just like to take this time to thank all the wonderful people who have taken the time to read and review my story. I truly appreciate your continued support after my long absence on this website, and I cannot even begin to describe how much your reviews mean to me. You have motivated me to write and post this next chapter, and I truly hope you enjoy it. Please, read and review. Thank you.

Chapter 10

Half an hour after his encounter with the media, Kurt stood silently in his bedroom watching as the news reporters began to pack up their equipment and drive away in their vans. He still held the sketch of Mischa that he had printed off the internet a few days prior and expression he wore on his face was indescribable. He felt lost, angry, and confused, but more than anything he felt scared – horrified even – for both Kiara and Mischa. Who knew where they were and what they were going through?

"Are you alright, Kurt?"

Kurt turned to see Professor Xavier standing in the doorway of his bedroom, looking grave.

"Oh, hey, Professor," Kurt said, smiling as he watched the professor wheel himself inside the room and close the door behind him. "I'm alright. I'm just worried about them." He knew he didn't have to say their names for the professor to know who he was talking about.

"As you rightly should be, Kurt," Professor Xavier said, nodding understandably. Then he caught sight of the look on Kurt's face and quickly changed the direction of the conversation. "I'm sure we'll pick up on Mischa's mutant signature again soon, though. I am certain that Kiara would never allow anything bad to happen to her."

Kurt sighed and turned his attention back to the window. He kept his eyes on the skyline as though hoping that Kiara's dark, dragon-like shape would appear suddenly on the sunlit horizon. "From what I've seen of Kiara's current state," he said, "I doubt she could stop anything bad from happening to Mischa."

"If I know Kiara Blaze as well as I think I do," Professor Xavier said, frowning, "then I think that anyone who tried to harm her daughter would have a very great reason to fear her, and you should know better than anyone what she would do to protect the ones she loves and cares about. After all, look at what she did to protect you. I think you should have more faith in her."

"I know I should, Professor," Kurt said as he turned and walked across the room. He sat down on his bed, facing the professor. "I want to have faith in Kiara, but, honestly, I'm more worried about her than anything else and a small part of me just can't help but be angry at her for keeping Mischa from me. I mean, how am I supposed to forgive her for that?"

"Only you know how to answer that, Kurt," Professor Xavier told him. "However, I believe that you will come to naturally forgive her once you have a chance to tell her how you feel."

"Yeah," Kurt said, resting his head in his hands. "If I ever get that chance."

One Week Later

Somewhere In the North Atlantic Ocean

Kiara sat silently between two enormous shipping crates in the darkness of the cargo hold of the ship called The Glaucia. Mischa was sleeping silently in her arms and she had no way of knowing what time it was or how much time it had passed since she had boarded the ship with her daughter. She felt as though they had been on the ship for weeks and that time was only getting slower with every passing day. She wondered how long it would be until they reached America.

It wasn't that Kiara wasn't grateful. She was more than grateful that Captain Alegrio had allowed them passage aboard his ship and she kept trying to think of ways to make it up to him. She had often considered volunteering to do chores, but she was too afraid to leave Mischa alone with the other crewmen. She had no idea what kind of men they were, and in the end, she just could not bring herself to trust them. So, she decided, the only thing she could do to thank Captain Alegrio was to fulfill his request and see to it that Mischa made it to her father safely.

In front of Kiara was the ancient, dog-eared sketchbook she had saved from high school. She used to spend hours drawing in it during her free time back at Father Viktor's until she had filled with pictures of Mischa, her father, and the others from the Xavier Institute. At the moment, Kiara had the sketchbook to open to very last picture she had ever drawn. It was picture of Mischa's father, looking exactly the way she remembered him, in his true form, crouching as though poised for attack in a forest clearing. She had drawn the clearing from memory, even though she had only practiced her fire-breathing abilities there a handful of times with the most memorable time being the day Bobby Drake had saved her life from a rogue buzz saw.

Kiara hadn't even looked at the sketchbook in years, though. After she had run out of space inside of it, she had wrapped it up with her old uniform and hidden it under the loose floorboard of her attic bedroom along with the rest of her things from the Institute so she would never have to look at them again. Looking at the sketchbook now only enhanced the sense of longing to be at that place once again that had nagged at her constantly from the back of her mind for the past five years. A small part of her wished that she had burned it, but the more sensible part of her felt it was important for Mischa to have with her as she grew.

"Senhorita, is this place really so bad?"

Kiara looked up to see Captain Alegrio, standing over her with a plate of food in his hands. She smiled sadly at him and said, "No, I'm just not looking forward to giving up my daughter." She turned her attention back to Mischa's sleeping form, her smile fading as she spoke.

"If you're not looking forward to it," Captain Alegrio said, setting the plate of food down at her feet, "then why don't you go live with her father as well?" He stood up, leaning against a nearby shipping crate.

Kiara laughed bitterly at the suggestion. "Mischa's father would never have me back," she said, stroking Mischa's head. "He probably hates me, and I wouldn't blame him if he did, either. He doesn't deserve to be with someone as horrible as me."

Captain Alegrio thought for a moment before he said, "Then, perhaps, you should look at it this way – yes, you are giving up your daughter, but you're doing it so that she can have a better life and be with her father, and, in the end, that's something that they're both going to eventually want to thank you for. Also, just because you're not with your daughter, that doesn't mean you will never get to see her again or that you can't remain in contact with her."

"Yeah," Kiara said, sighing. "I guess, you're right." Somehow, she severely doubted that the captain would ever understand what she was going through as a parent and as a mother.

Captain Alegrio seemed to sense what she was feeling because a moment later, he sighed heavily and said, "Senhorita, would you like to hear a story?"

"A story?" Kiara said, looking up at him. "What kind of story?"

"The story," Captain Alegrio said in a suddenly somber tone, "of Glaucia."

"Al-alright," Kiara said, even though she was uncertain if she really did want to hear the story or not. She pulled Mischa closer to her and continued to stroke her hair subconsciously.

"About ten years ago," Captain Alegrio said, sitting down on the floor of the cargo hold opposite from Kiara, "I had an eight-year-old daughter named Glaucia, who was very similar to your Mischa. She was a mutant, you see, with pale blue skin and hair and eyes the color of the night sky. My wife and I thought she was beautiful, but the people in our tiny village did not understand, so when it was time for Glaucia to go to school, we moved to Lisbon and the people there were more understanding. However, the children at her school teased her and made Glaucia very unhappy. My wife and I thought it was nothing at first. Then we discovered that Glaucia had the ability to dissolve into water and transform back into her humanoid form. The doctors called it water mimicry and told us her powers had materialized earlier than planned due to stress they believed to be caused by her school environment. My wife and I were horrified and we pulled Glaucia out of school to be home-schooled." He paused to sigh, looking somber and as though he wished he had decided not to relive the events of which he spoke. "A few weeks later, the school sent someone to see why Glaucia had not been in school. When we told them that we had decided to home-school Glaucia, they were relieved to say the least. Two years passed, and Glaucia and her abilities were accepted by everyone in the community. Then one day, my wife sent her to the grocery store to buy ingredients for Papo Secos(1) and she never came home…" His voice trailed off as he took several, deep, shuddering breaths.

"What happened to her?" Kiara asked him quietly uncertain of whether or not she really wanted to know.

"She was kidnapped," Captain Alegrio said, looking up at her. He got to his feet and began to pace. "The incident was witnessed by six people and they all said the same thing – Glaucia was taken by a group of a dozen or so men dressed in black jumpsuits with red letters on them and they had guns. The witnesses say that Glaucia attempted to fight back, but the men put a device on her that disabled her powers and they took her away in a black van with no license plates. No one knows for certain what the writing on their jumpsuits said. The witnesses are divided, although two of six witnesses claim to have seen the word M-RADD –" he spelled the letters out in the air with his index-finger as he spoke "—while the other four say that it said something similar to it." He paused in his pacing, and turned to face Kiara. "The woman, who gave you the map to my ship was my wife. Her name is Luzia, and whenever we hear about mutants on the run, she sends them to find me." He knelt down in front of her, his face inches from her own. "You may be giving up your daughter, but at least you can be certain that she's safe with her father. I don't even know where my daughter is." He stood up and walked away, leaving her alone with her sleeping daughter in the on-going darkness of the cargo hold.

1) Papo Secos - Portuguese bread rolls.


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: I do not own the X-Men.

Chapter 11

Bayville, New York

Kurt sat silently in the living room of the Xavier Institute with Kitty, Lance, Rogue, and Gambit. His expression was one of stony sadness, his face lined with worry. He had been neglecting his X-Man training lately, and spending all of his free time watching news reports or doing research on the internet to see if someone somewhere had caught sight of Kiara and Mischa, but so far, there was nothing. Two weeks had passed since his encounter with the media, and all he could find on the subject of Mischa Wagner were talk show hosts, debating whether or not she would be better off the elderly German couple who may or may not have been her grandparents or the teenage, college student who was claiming to be her father. Viktor and Agatha Krauste were, as far as he knew, denying Kiara Blaze's very existence and stated on international television that they believed Kurt was delusional and should seek mental help. The whole ordeal was nothing short of infuriating, and what made it even worse was that Kurt couldn't even confront them about it because they were all the way in Germany.

"Hey, Kurt," Bobby said, sitting down on the couch besides, carrying a large hardcover book.

"Hey, Bobby," Kurt said, looking up at him.

The tension in the room immediately thickened as the other people in the room fell silent and their eyes fell on Kurt and Bobby. Lately, Kurt had been trying to avoid Bobby. Not because he disliked him, but because he was trying very hard to not feel as though it was entirely Bobby's fault that Mischa had been kept from him for five years because he didn't stop Kiara from leaving when he had the chance.

"So, uh, Bobby," Kitty said from where she was sitting on the floor next to Lance, "what's that?" She nodded to the book he held in his hands.

"Oh, this?" Bobby said, looking down at the book shocked, as though he had momentarily forgotten about it. He looked back up at Kitty, smiling. "It's an old Bayville High yearbook I found in the library that I thought you guys might want to look at."

"Why would you think that?" Rogue said from her spot in Gambit's lap as she grabbed the television remote off a nearby end table and changed the channel to The Chiller Network, which seemed to be airing a marathon of _Tales From Beyond the Crept_.

"Hush now, _cher_," Gambit said, tugging playfully at a strand of her hair. "Be nice."

"What for?" Rogue said, frowning at him. "It's just a stupid yearbook. I ain't got no one from high school that I ever want to see again."

"Gee, thanks, Rogue," Kurt said, looking at her darkly.

"You're welcome," Rogue said, smiling at him.

"Right," Kitty said as Kurt opened his mouth to respond. "Anyway, Bobby, that's not the one with the thing in it, is it?" She gestured to the yearbook.

"What thing?" Lance said, looking from her to the yearbook and back again. "What are you talking about?"

"You know," Kitty said, scowling at him. "The, like, _thing_."

"You mean the tribute?" Bobby said, smiling as he opened the yearbook and started flipping through the pages. "Yep, this is the one."

Kurt tore his eyes away from the window he had been staring out of to look down at the yearbook. Bayville High had put together several different yearbook tribute pages to students who had died or gone missing throughout the years. The one Bobby had mentioned could have dedicated to any random, former student. Surely, it was not the one he was thinking of.

"Here it is," Bobby said, stopping on a certain page of the yearbook. "I thought you might want to look at it, Kurt."

"Of course you did," Kurt said in a tone of voice that suggested he highly doubted that Bobby was doing this in an attempt just to be nice.

Even so, Kurt found himself staring down at the page Bobby had opened the book to, unable to look away. In the year that Kiara had left the Xavier Institute, Bayville High had put out a two-page tribute spread in that year's yearbook at the request of Kurt, several other students, and her old art teacher. The page consisted mostly of one Kiara's drawings which had become somewhat famous after winning several awards in a state-wide amateur art contest. Despite being reprinted by the local newspaper, the original copy of the drawing still hung in the hallway outside the cafeteria at Bayville High. It was a charcoal drawing that depicted the home Kiara had once lived in with her sorry excuse of a father and the field that stretched beyond it, being attacked and eaten away at by rampant red and blue flames, while thick clouds of black smoke coiled up into grey, tainted sky. In the corner of the page, there should have been a three-dimensional cross bearing the name of the Kiara's father, but given his abuse of her that had been removed from the work of art and replaced instead by the only school picture of her that had been available. Kiara's first and last name had been printed horizontally along the side of the page in a style as close as to her original calligraphy as the yearbook artist could manage, but no one would ever be able copy her style perfectly.

The thing Kurt found most distracting was the picture of the then 14-year-old Kiara. It showed only her face depicted against a dark blue background, but even just looking at it now was enough to bring to mind the image of her he had seen on the news, wasted and sickly-looking, as though the littlest thing might destroy her. In the picture he was seeing now, however, she had been young and beautiful. She had worn her tri-colored hair down, so it fell over her shoulders and to the small of her back. There was no light in her eyes, the look on her face showed her as empty and alone as though she had been plagued by what must have been true loneliness.

Kurt wondered how he had never noticed that until now. Perhaps, he had been too blind. "Put that away, Bobby," he said, tearing his eyes away from the yearbook.

"Yeah," Kitty said, looking uncomfortable. "I'm not, like, sure if it was a good idea for you to bring that out here."

"Bring what out here?"

They all looked up to see Logan, standing in the doorway.

"It's nothing, Logan, honestly," Kurt said, turning his attention back to the Crept Keeper in hopes of avoiding an argument – Logan was one of several people in the mansion who still blamed Bobby for letting Kiara leave.

"What have you got there, Drake?" Logan said, crossing the room and taking the book from Bobby.

"It's nothing," Bobby said, looking at him. "Just an old yearbook."

"It's not just an old yearbook," Logan said, flipping through the pages of the book. "It's Kurt's old yearbook from his sophomore year at Bayville High."

"What?" Kurt said, jumping to his feet and taking the book from Logan. He flipped it open to the front cover and, sure enough, there was his name written on the inside of it in his own messy handwriting along with several autographs from his old school friends telling him to have a good summer vacation. He scowled at Bobby. "You took this from my room?"

"Yeah, so?" Bobby said, getting to his feet. "What's the big deal – you never look at it."

"There's a reason for that," Kurt reminded him, closing the book. "And besides, you said you got this out of the library."

"Yeah," Rogue said. "You can't just go in someone's room and take their stuff without permission. What's wrong with you, Bobby?"

"What's wrong with me?" Bobby said, looking at her in disbelief. "What's wrong with all of you people?" He gestured to each of them with one movement of his hand.

"What is that to supposed to, like, mean?" Kitty said, scowling at him. "We didn't, like, do anything to you."

"No, not to me," Bobby said, looking at her. "To Blaze." The room fell silent as they waited for him to explain. "None of you seem to know her by _that_ name anymore, though, do you? Never mind the fact that she was once an X-Man and that she trained alongside us and helped defend our home against Magneto and the Brotherhood. All any of you care about is that she made a mistake and made him upset –" he gestured to Kurt "—when if you think about it, it's really all his fault that she left to begin with."

The room was silent for a long time. Then, finally, Logan said in a low, dangerous voice, "You are way, way out of line, bub."

Bobby looked away from him silently, unwilling to respond.

Kurt stood silently, unable to speak for a moment as he tried his best to piece everything. Then at last he took a step towards Bobby and said, "You think that – what, I was only with Kiara so I could sleep with her?" His voice rang with shocked disbelief.

"You were a teenage boy and she was a mentally unstable rape victim," Bobby said, looking at him. "She'd been abused by her father."

"And you think that I took advantage of that?" Kurt asked him. He continued on without waiting for an answer. "I never manipulated her, I never forced her into anything – she made her own choice that day."

"The same way she made the choice to leave here to protect you," Bobby reminded him. "And all you can think about are the things she did wrong to you – forget the fact that she raised your daughter as a slave in Europe for five years when she could have just gone to the free clinic and got an abortion –"

"I never _wanted_ that for her," Kurt said, cutting him off. "Or for Mischa. It kills me, knowing that I wasn't there for them and that I wasn't there for Kiara when she needed me, but she ran away and kept my daughter from me and I'm sorry, but I think I have a right to be upset with her because of that."

"She was protecting you," Bobby said again.

"And I didn't need it," Kurt said quickly. He stared down at the floor as he spoke. "And I didn't want it. I would have gladly stood by her and raised my daughter with her, and not a second passes when I don't wish that I could somehow go back in time and change things and stop her from leaving. Not a second passes when I don't worry about them and pray for their safety." He looked up at Bobby. "You don't know what I'd give to know that in just a short time, I could have Kiara back and be around to help her raise Mischa, but if my daughter is all she's willing to give to me, then what can I really do to stop her? She's already evaded me for five years. If she wants nothing to do with me, I'm not going to force myself on her." He turned and started to walk out of the room.

"Kurt," Bobby said, causing him to pause halfway across the room. "You don't really think Blaze would abandon her daughter, do you?"

"I could hope for otherwise, Bobby," Kurt said, "but why bother – I'm trying to be realistic, not hopeful." With that, he teleported out of the room, disappearing in a cloud of black smoke.

A/N: I'm not entirely sure how this chapter got to be as emotionally dramatic it is, but in all honesty this originally going to be a fluff chappie, so I'm actually glad that this is what came out instead. I hope you enjoyed the chapter. R&R, please.


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: I do not own X-Men.

A/N: Okay, so any other day this would come at the end of the chapter, but I feel as though I should apologize to you guys for making you wait so long. See, what basically happened was one of my boyfriend's friends broke our laptop and we've had to save up a while to buy a new one. I really hope you guys are able to forgive me for being away for so long, but, sadly, there were just other things on our shopping list that were more important than a new laptop, even with the old being broken. I'm so glad to see that people are still reading and reviewing, though. It makes me so happy to know that people haven't forgotten about my fics and characters (meaning the OCs).

Oh, and to those of who you have been reviewing about my German being off – I'm sorry, but I've been studying German with the free, suckish version of Byki. Yell at them for only teaching the formal stuff, although TBH the reason why I stuck with "Ich liebe Sie" is because – and those of you who have read the prequel will know this – that's what Kurt and Kiara always said to each other in "Blaze" when they said "I love you" in German and I really enjoy the feeling of familiarity I feel with that term and, for me, its just sort of, "their thing", you know?

Again, thank you all so much reading and reviewing. Thank you for the support, and please forgive my long absence and enjoy.

Chapter 12

Kurt teleported into his bedroom and landed on his bed silently. He threw his old high school yearbook on the floor and collapsed on his bed, sighing. He ran his fingers through his hair, groaning loudly as he heard a small, quiet knock on his door. "Who is it?" he said, hoping the person could hear him on the other side of the closed door.

"It's, um, me, Kurt," Kitty said, phasing her head through the bedroom door, and looking worried. "Is it, like, okay if I come in?"

"Of course it is, Kitty," Kurt said, trying his best to smile and failing. She was his best friend, after all.

"So," Kitty said, phasing herself into the room and starting to cross the room. She paused when she saw Kurt's yearbook lying on the floor. "Are you, like, okay?"

"I don't know," Kurt said honestly, running his hand through his hair again. "I'm just hurt, you know, that Bobby would say think those things about me – much less actually _say_ them. To my face."

"Yeah, we all agree," Kitty said. "Bobby was _way_ out of line." She bent down and picked up his yearbook off the floor, and looked back up at him. "I can't believe he actually went in your room and took this without your permission." She fell silent and started flipping through the pages of the yearbook.

Kurt stared at her for a moment, unsure of what to say. Then a realization dawned on him as a horrible thought entered his head and he said, "Kitty, you do know that I would never have used Kiara – or any other girl – in the way that Bobby was suggesting – or any way for that matter? You do realize that, don't you?"

Kitty sighed and shut the yearbook with loud a snap. She looked up at Kurt, scowling, and said, "Of course I do and honestly, I'm, like, insulted that you would even ask me that."

Kurt stared at her apologetically, feeling both stunned and relieved that he had insulted her somehow. "Well, I'm sorry," he said, "but I just wanted to make sure –"

"Look," Kitty said, sighing as she sat down at his computer desk with the yearbook in her lap. "I didn't want to have to be the one who told you this, but the reason Bobby probably thought that is because some of the younger students and some of the people around town have been saying some...things." She looked away from him as his expression began to change. "You just haven't noticed because you've been so busy worrying about Kiara and Mischa, and working with the Professor to make sure the cops and media know the right stuff."

It took Kurt a moment to register exactly what Kitty was saying, but he still felt as though he had to hear it for himself. "So," he said with an expression that was a mixture of stony anger and mild horror. "What exactly have people been saying?"

"What?" Kitty said, looking up at him, shocked. "You don't seriously want to know, do you?"

"Well, I wouldn't have asked you otherwise," Kurt said, slightly irritated that she was attempting to dodge his question.

Kitty moved her mouth wordlessly for a moment, looking very much as though she wished she had not said anything about the subject. "Its just that," she said, "those people don't know you and – "

"Please, just tell me what they've been saying, Kitty," Kurt said, his expression suddenly pleading. "You know I'm going to end up hearing about it sooner or later anyway. Bayville isn't exactly a large town."

Kitty crossed her arms across her chest and said reluctantly, "Its just that not everyone knows you and not everyone knows the truth about what things were like between you and Kiara. Plus, the tabloids have done a really good job of making you look bad –"

"I was in the tabloids?" Kurt said, looking shocked at this new bit of information. "When was that?"

"I don't know," Kitty said, frowning. "Like two weeks ago, I think. There weren't just news reporters and cameramen in that crowd you spoke to."

"Well, obviously," Kurt said, scoffing, "but people from the tabloids were there – seriously?"

"Only people from the small, desperate ones," Kitty said, nodding. "Most people don't pay much attentions to tabloids, I think, so the reporters will report about, like, anything to get people to buy them."

"What did they say?" Kurt asked her. "The articles, I mean."

"Nothing much, really," Kitty said. "I mean, I don't usually read that garbage, but when I say your picture on the cover..." Her voice trailed off and she shrugged, trying to make it look as though it were no big deal.

Kurt stared at her, impatiently waiting for her to answer his question, which she was clearly trying to dodge again. The two of them sat in silence.

"Anyway," Kitty said when she pretended to have finally noticed his expression almost five minutes later. "They pretty much made it sound like you were a typical teenage boy, looking to score some action, which you weren't, but of course no one bothered writing that. Only it was kind of, like, worse than just that."

"How could be any worse than just that?" Kurt said, looking confused. What could possibly be worse than people thinking he had merely been using Kiara?

"Well, they managed to dredge up Kiara's history and make you look really bad," Kitty said, looking away from him with an apologetic expression. She began to speak more rapidly. "I mean, I don't know how they found out about her dad abusing her – probably from all the old news articles, I guess –"

"And?" Kurt said, interrupting her before she could begin to rant like he sensed she would.

Kitty looked up at him with a sad look on her face. "Did you know," she said, "that eighty-one percent of the people in psychiatric hospitals that suffer from a major mental illness are the victims of physical or sexual abuse?"

Kurt's eyes widened in shock as she said this. "What?" he said. "No, I had no idea the number was so high –"

"And," Kitty continued, "sixty-seven percent of those people were abused as a child."

Kurt stared at her, shocked by this information. "I-I had no idea," he said honestly, looking away from her. "I had no idea that so many people..." He turned his gaze back to Kitty. "What does any of this have to do with Kiara?"

"Basically," Kitty said, swallowing hard, "the article said that if she managed to make it through life without any kind of mental illness or defect, then she was part of an incredibly small and incredibly lucky minority of victims of abuse. Then they made it sound like you were just some jerk who only saw a weak, vulnerable, mutant rape victim that you could use to your advantage, that Mischa the result of that, and that the odds of you having any real feelings for Kiara at that time were probably slim to none, even though a lot of people said it was pretty clear that she had real feelings for you." She looked away from him uncomfortably. "They made it sound like you only wanted her around for one thing and that was it. Like you didn't even care about her feelings, sort of."

Kurt looked away from her in disbelief. He could not believe what he was hearing or that someone would print these things about him. Or that Kiara might be mentally ill in some way. He had never known about the connection between abuse victims and the people who ended up in asylums. It was all just too much to believe. Then a thought hit him and he looked back up at Kitty. "Why wasn't I told about this before now?" he asked her.

"Well, its like I said, Kurt," Kitty said, looking up at him. "Not everyone reads that stuff and none of your friends wanted to tell you once we found out, especially not me. Plus, the professor kind of, sort of told us to, like, not tell you about it. He said you had enough to deal with without having to worrying about stupid rumors, too."

Kurt sighed and got to his feet, shaking his head.

"Where you're, like, going?" Kitty asked as she watched him cross the room.

"To talk to the professor," Kurt said without looking at her. He teleported out of the room.

Kurt landed in the hall outside of Professor Xavier's study silently. He could hear voices coming from inside it – Jean, Scott, Logan, and the professor's. He stood uncertainly for a moment, wondering if he could be interrupting something important. Then he raised his hand to knock on the door and the voices ceased, suddenly.

'Come in, Kurt,' Professor Xavier's voice said loudly inside of Kurt's head as he spoke telepathically.

Kurt nodded and reached for the handle.

When he opened the door, Kurt was surprised to find that other people were also present aside from those whose voices he had heard – Bobby and Rogue were also there.

Kurt closed the door behind him and nodded to Rogue as he crossed the room. She raised her eyebrows at him as he passed.

"Yes, Kurt?" Professor Xavier said as Kurt stood silently in front of his desk. "How can I help you today?"

"Kitty told me about the tabloid articles," Kurt said, his voice empty of all emotion.

"Ah, Kitty!" Jean groaned quietly from her spot on the opposite of the room beside Scott.

Kurt ignored her and went on, "And what people here and around Bayville have buying into and saying about me. And what some people have even been brave enough to say to my face." He shot a dark look in Bobby's direction.

"Kurt," Professor Xavier said, "I want you to know that we all agree that Bobby's behavior was most uncalled for and his punishment was, of course, being taken care of just before you arrived here."

"I'm in charge," Logan said, nodding as he stood beside the professor and the bay window.

"Look," Kurt said, leaning forward and putting his hands down on the desk. "I don't care about how Bobby's being punished. I don't care what he thinks or what anyone else thinks about my relationship with Kiara – if someone who has known me for as long as he or anyone else in this school or has and still decides to believe what some gossip writer decides to say about me over my own word, then I don't want anything to do with them. The same goes for anyone in Bayville. I don't care who they are, but I need to know, professor..." He met the professor's eyes with his own. "Did you know five years ago that there was a chance that Kiara might have had or could have developed some sort of mental illness or – or defect?"

"When we first brought Kiara here," Professor Xavier said, "I knew that there was a chance that her father's abuse of her might have effected her mentally. When I looked into her mind, however, I saw sadness, depression, low self-esteem, anger, hatred even, and a sense of misunderstanding. She was always wondering, wondering why her father did what he did, why he would hurt her that way, why had her life turned out the way it had; with a dead mother and an abusive father, who had died at her own hands. Above all, though, Kurt, do you know what I saw in her?"

Kurt shook his head silently, honestly uncertain of what the professor might say.

"I saw strength in her, Kurt," Professor Xavier said, smiling somewhat fondly at this memory. "There was so much strength in her you cannot even begin to imagine and there were no hints of any mental illness or defect, most surprisingly, except perhaps depression, which is a mental illness several millions of people deal with without ever being abused or neglected by their parents. That is why when we suppressed Kiara's memories from her, I was certain that you would be able to make her feel better."

"But when we had to tell her the truth," Kurt said, feeling somewhat confused, "and her memories returned to her, Kiara was so upset, so depressed." He shook his head, clearing his own confusion. "I had never her seen her that way before, and it was because I wasn't there for her. I wasn't there when she needed me to be."

"There wasn't your fault, Kurt," Scott said, speaking to him for the first time since he had gotten there.

"Yeah, Kurt," Rogue said. "That wasn't anyone's fault but her own. I hate to say it, but she wouldn't _let _any of us be there for her. I know she must have been confused and upset, but, unfortunately, she brought it all on herself in the end."

"No, she didn't, Rogue," Logan said, causing her to look at him. "We lied to her, remember? We stood there and told her that her dad been a good dad, who didn't deserve to die when we all know damn well that he deserved exactly what he got and worse, and I think she was angry with us and that she deserved to be."

"She was angry with us because we were trying to protect her?" Rogue said angrily, scowling at him.

"You would be, too, Rogue," Jean said with her arms crossed across her chest and a dark look on her face. "You would have been angry with us, too, if we had lied to you and let you spend weeks mourning the man who had abused you and stolen your childhood."

"Professor," Kurt said before Rogue had a chance to respond to Jean's comment. "Is there a chance that Kiara could have developed a mental illness or defect since she found out the truth about her father and since she left?"

"After Kiara regained her memories of her father abusing her," Professor Xavier said, "the possibility of her developing a mental illness became more realistic to me, which is why I had her enrolled in consoling and was attempting to arrange appointments for her with a psychiatrist, but then she was gone within a week of the mansion's rebuilding."

"So there could be something wrong with her now – mentally, I mean?" Kurt asked him.

Professor Xavier stood silently for a moment as though he were picking and choosing his words carefully. "There could be," he admitted after a moment, nodding. "I won't know, however, until I've had a chance to examine her again and with all that she's been through, it could something as simple as depression or something as complex as Dissociative Identity Disorder, although that is incredibly rare."

"Dissociative Identity Disorder?" Kurt said again. The name of the disorder sounded familiar. Ha had heard of it before. He just wasn't entirely sure what it was.

"Yes," Professor Xavier said grimly. "It is otherwise known as Multiple Personality Disorder and it is incredibly rare, though it does seem to have a history of plaguing victims of traumatic childhood sexual abuse. There have been cases of psychiatric patients with the disorder having as many as seventeen different personalities."

Kurt's eyes widened in disbelief as he heard this. He had known what Split Personality Disorder was, despite it being just as rare, but he hadn't even thought it was possible for a person to develop seventeen different personalities. It just didn't seem possible. It seemed like something out of a sci-fi movie. He put his hands together, as though in prayer, and looked at the professor over his fingertips. "If Kiara has something," he said, "a mental illness – can it be treated and how will it effect Mischa?"

"Well, that all depends," Professor Xavier said. "Some mental illnesses can be treated with drugs or therapy, while others remain incurable. Some are genetic and can be passed down to children. Others skip generations or don't get passed down at all, but its like I said, I won't know until I've had the chance to examine Kiara and Mischa."

Kurt squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head frequently as though in a panic. "Those odds –" he said. "The odds of Kiara being sick – or Mischa, my daughter, being sick –"

"I know that the odds don't look good, Kurt," Professor Xavier said, holding up his hands in an attempt to calm him down, "but you have to remember that Kiara – "

"Is a strong person," Kurt said, nodding as he finished the professor's sentence for him. "She has more strength than I can even begin to imagine, but how often does strength conquer inheritable mental illness in a victim of sexual abuse and an innocent four-year-old?" He shook his head. "We have to find them."

"Kurt," Scott said, "we've been on the outlook for them for almost a month. The police are looking for them and they're all over the news. Just what more exactly do you expect us to do?"

Kurt looked from Scott to the professor and back again. "Use Cerebro," he said simply.

"That won't work, Kurt," Jean said, shaking her head. "Kiara hasn't used her powers for five years and she hasn't used them even once she and Mischa have been on the run. The chances of her suddenly deciding to use them now are not good."

Kurt looked at her and said, "I never said anything about searching for Kiara." He turned his attention back to Professor Xavier. "I want you to search for Mischa instead. Wherever she is, Kiara's bound to be and she's a four-year-old teleporting pyro, who's just started to develop her powers. Chances are that she must be curious and Kiara can't keep her from using her powers one-hundred percent of the time. No one can watch their kid that well. I don't care if their name is Super Mom. Its just not possible."

"You know, he makes a point," Logan said. "Kiara's got to sleep sometime, and who's say to that when she's asleep, little Mischa's not experimenting?"

"Oh, my god," Rogue said quietly as realization dawned on her suddenly and she got to her feet.

"What is it?" Kurt asked her.

"Kurt," Rogue said, looking at him as though he were stupid. "She's a four-year-old teleporting pyro who's just started developing her powers and only has time to experiment when her teen mother is asleep. She could cause an explosion." She started to cross the room. "Come on, Jean, you can use Cerebro. We should have been looking for her signal all this time."

Kurt watched in disbelief as Rogue and Jean left the study hurriedly, taking off down the hall which would lead the way to the Cerebro chamber.

"Kurt," Professor Xavier said, causing Kurt return his attention to him. "If we find them, I don't think it would be a good idea for you to go after them. You may frighten Kiara off and change her opinion of whether or not Mischa staying with you – or even getting to know you for that – is a good idea."

"As long as it seems like they're headed to New York," Kurt said, nodding, "then I won't go after them."

"That's all I can ask," Professor Xavier said as he started to wheel himself out of the room. "Now, if you don't mind, I must go locate Ororo and ask her to help with those fliers you're thinking of distributing once again."

"Yeah," Logan said as he started to move slowly across the room. "And I've got to detention do with this one." He nodded at Bobby, who was still sitting in his chair in front of the professor's desk.

Kurt had completely forgotten he was there.

"Extra Danger Room sessions with yours truly," Logan said, pausing in front Bobby's chair and putting his hand on his shoulder.

Bobby got to his feet and started to follow him out of the room.

Kurt watched the two of them leave of the room, unable to speak, not if knowing he would be able to forgive Bobby for his harsh, untrue, despicable accusations against him. Then he turned and left the room silently.


	13. Chapter 13

Disclaimer: I do not own the X-Men.

Chapter 13

Three Days Later

Somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean

Kiara sat with her back pressed against the cool steel of an enormous shipping crate in the darkness of _The Glaucia_'s cargo hold. She watched silently as Mischa sat across from her, playing quietly with the ragged stuffed lemur doll that had once been her own, her bright golden eyes glossed over boredom.

"Are you alright?" Kiara said, already knowing the answer of her question.

Mischa sighed as she paused in her halfhearted playing and looked up at her mother. "I want off this boat, Mama," she said, setting the lemur doll down on the floor beside. "It is boring here."

Kiara sighed. "_Kommen Sie hier_(1)," she said, beckoning to her daughter.

Mischa grabbed the lemur doll, crawled across the floor of the ship and into her mother's lap silently.

"I know you don't like it here, but the captain says that we're going to be at your Vati's soon," Kiara said, wrapping her arms around Mischa. "Then you'll be very happy and have lots of things to do, I promise."

"I'd be even happier if you stayed with us," Mischa said, looking up at her with wide, hopeful eyes.

"Mischa," Kiara said, stroking her daughter's hair. "You know I can't do that."

"But why not?" Mischa said, her eyes shining with tears. "Don't you want me, Mama?"

Kiara ran her hand down the side of her daughter's face, tracing her cheekbones and said, "Of course I want you, silly. I love you more than anything, but even if I wanted to stay with you, I don't think your Vati would want me to." She brushed the tears out of her daughter's eyes.

"Why wouldn't he want you to?" Mischa said, her expression one of hurt confusion. "Doesn't he love me?"

"Of course he loves you," Kiara said, hugging her tightly. "I know he will, but I..." She squeezed her eyes shut tightly as tears began to stream down her cheeks, leaving behind twin trails of steam. "I hurt him very much, and his forgiveness just isn't something I deserve." She pulled away from Mischa and looked her square in the face with a stern look on her face. "But do not ever think that just because your Vati doesn't love me that that means he feels the same the way about you. I know you don't know him and that this is confusing for you, but the way that he feels about me is my fault and I know that he deserves more credit than I wanted to give him five years ago, and if you think that he doesn't love you, then he deserves more credit than you give him, too." She wrapped her arms around Mischa and pulled her close to her, burying her face in her chest. "_Ich liebe Sie, und er liebt Sie. Mehr als Sie sich jemals vorstellen konnten. Vergesst niemals, dass._(2)"

Mischa pulled away from her mother and looked up at her, her expression even more confused than before. "How could my Vati not love you?" she said, reaching up and brushing a strand of Kiara's hair behind her ear. "You're beautiful."

Six and a Half Hours Later

The Xavier Institute

Bayville, New York

Kurt sat silently in the kitchen of the institute with Rogue, Scott, and Jean. Early morning sunlit streamed in through the window as he yawned quietly and the wall clock ticked its way ever-diligently to ten-thirty AM.

"Here," Jean said, setting a cup of black coffee down in front of him.

"Thanks, Jean," Kurt said, smiling at her. He sighed as he grabbed a spoon off the table and began to stir the coffee with it.

"Worrying about Mischa?" Scott asked, sitting down beside him at the table with his own cup of coffee.

"And Kiara," Kurt said, his smile fading as he looked at him.

"I don't understand why," Rogue said bitterly, taking a sip of her own coffee. "Its her fault we're in this situation to begin with."

Kurt scowled at her and said, "You do realize that if Kiara _is_ mentally ill, then there's a chance she might hurt Mischa without meaning to?"

"Good, let her," Rogue said, causing Scott and Jean to look at her in surprise. "It'll just be one more thing for the police and government to charge her with when she gets here."

"Rogue," Jean said as Scott sighed and shook his head, the look surprise gone from both of their faces. "I'm pretty sure the kidnapping charges are going to be dropped."

"Yeah," Kurt said, nodding. "I mean, its not exactly kidnapping if its your own child."

"Oh?" Rogue said, scowling at him. "Then how about child negligence, endangerment of a child's safety and welfare, and illegally crossing international boarders?"

Kurt looked away from her, scowling, but unable to speak. He hated to admit it, but Rogue was right – Kiara had gotten herself into a lot of trouble, although he wasn't sure how much all that was going to matter once she was back in the States.

"Don't worry, Kurt," Scott told him reassuringly. "I'm sure none of that will make any difference once Kiara is back here."

"Even if it doesn't," Rogue said before Kurt had a chance to respond, "y'all can bet that this whole thing will end up going to court, anyway, with or without Kiara."

"What?" Kurt said, looking at her. "You don't mean for a custody battle?"

"Well, duh," Rogue said, rolling her eyes in annoyance. "The Kraustes are still claiming Mischa as their granddaughter and if they're serious about wanting her back, then we should be hearing from their lawyers any day now."

"Like the government would even give Mischa back to them," Kurt said, scowling. "You heard what they said on the news – they had been keeping her and Kiara in a pigsty of an attic that's smaller than this kitchen." He gestured to the room around them with his hands. "There's no way they would give her back to them. I would get custody automatically."

"Maybe," Rogue said after a brief moment of consideration. "Probably only if you could prove were her father, though, and that the Kraustes really aren't related to her, and if it just so happened that none of y'all are related to her, then she would go to foster home or a group home like this one." She looked around the kitchen as though comparing it to something, and then shuddered. "Only worse."

"How do you know so much about all this?" Kurt asked her.

Rogue looked at him surprised. Then she scoffed and said, "Forgotten, have you? Nice for you then, huh?"

"Forgot what?" Kurt said confused.

"Just that I_ grew up_ in the foster care system," Rogue said, getting to her feet and starting to leave the room. "Jeeze."

"Wow," Kurt said once Rogue was gone. "I feel like such an idiot."

"It's alright, Kurt," Jean said, smiling reassuringly. "You've got a lot going on right now. Rogue gets that."

"Yeah, she understands," Scott said, nodding. "She's just in a bad mood right now, that's all."

Just then, Beast walked in the room, smiling and said, "Kurt, the professor would like to see you in the Cerebro chamber."

"You got a hit on Mischa's signal?" Kurt asked him, shocked.

Jean and the professor had been taking turns using Cerebro to scan for Mischa and neither of them had gotten so much of a hint of her powers in the past three days.

"We think so," Beast said, nodding.

Kurt got to his feet and crossed the room. He grabbed Beast by the arm and teleported them both out of the room.

When they got to the Cerebro chamber, Kurt was surprised to see that Logan and Ororo were also there.

"Ah, Kurt," Professor Xavier said, smiling at him. "Thank you for joining us so quickly."

"Beast said that you got a hit on Mischa's signal," Kurt said, looking at him and sounding somewhat hopeful.

"Yes, it would appear so," Professor Xavier said, turning back to Cerebro. He began punching buttons on the keyboard rapidly.

"So where are they?" Kurt asked, looking around at the others.

"Right there," Professor Xavier said, bringing up a map on Cerebro's monitor.

Kurt looked at the monitor and studied it carefully until he spot a bright red dot, blinking faintly. "They're in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean?" he said, shocked. "What in the world are they doing there?"

"Your guess is as good as ours, bub," Logan said, shrugging.

"It would seem," Professor Xavier said, tapping away on Cerebro's keyboard, "that they are on a ship."

A picture of enormous steel ship, floating in the Atlantic's steely blue waters appeared on the screen.

"A ship?" Kurt said, examining the picture. "What kind of ship?"

"Well," Beast said, stepping forward to get a better look at the picture, "judging from its build, the ship that we're looking at now is more than likely a cargo ship, used to ship things internationally." He leaned closer to the screen to get a better look at it. "It's also possible that this a pirate ship." Then seeing the look on Kurt's face, he quickly added, "But unlikely, highly unlikely."

Kurt groaned loudly and started pacing back and forth across the room. "So then they're, like, what – stowaways on that ship?" he said. "Doesn't Kiara have any idea how dangerous that it is – "

"That is only one possibility, Kurt," Professor Xavier said, watching as Kurt continued to pace about the room. "There is also the chance that they have been offered fair passage aboard the ship."

"And last time we checked, the ship seemed to be directly on course for New York City," Beast added optimistically.

This made Kurt pause in his pacing. "Do you think that maybe –" he said, looking around at all of them. "I mean, they didn't seem to be to far from New York on the map." He gaze settled on the professor. "Maybe we should –"

"No," Professor Xavier said sternly. "I've already told you, if we go to intercept them, it could frighten Kiara off and make her change her mind. If she has become mentally ill, it could end up being even worse than that. We may end up fighting her and frightening Mischa. Trust me on this one, Kurt. It is better to wait for Kiara to come to us. Not vise versa –"

"Meine Gott!" Kurt said as he slammed his hands down on Cerebro's expansive keyboard irritatedly. He turned to face the professor. "Don't you think I realize what could happen – that's why I want them here. Now. Both of them – I just want them to be safe again."

And with that, he teleported out of the room.

A/N: I just wanted to say thank you to all of you have who went out your way to read my latest chapters. I hope that you enjoy my work and still think kindly of me, despite my absences. Thank you.

1) _Kommen Sie hier_ - "Come here" in German.

2) _Ich liebe Sie, und er liebt Sie. Mehr als Sie sich jemals vorstellen konnten. Vergesst niemals, dass -_ "I love you and he loves you. More than you could ever imagine. Don't ever forget that," in German.


	14. Chapter 14

Disclaimer: I do not own the X-Men.

Chapter 14

Kurt teleported himself outside and landed on the front steps of the mansion silently. He looked around the grounds of Institute, expecting to see the usual chaos ensuing as the other students rushed about while they trained, played, or harassed each other endlessly, but it wasn't like that at all today. It was calm, quiet without even a hint of the hectic, angry frustration that Kurt was currently feeling. In fact, the only thing that was out of place today was the small crowd of students all grouped together by the mansion's front gate. The sight of this was so surprising and unusual that it was almost enough to displace Kurt's feelings of anger and frustration. Momentarily, of course.

Intrigued, Kurt began walking down the front pathway towards the gate. "Kitty!" he called as he spotted her together with Lance at the back of the crowd.

Kitty turned to face him as he approached them and said, "Oh, like, hey, Kurt." She looked away from him again.

"What's going on?" Kurt asked, looking from Lance to Kitty and back again.

"I'm not exactly sure," Lance said, looking at him. "I only came down here because I saw her here." He gestured to Kitty.

Kurt looked at Kitty expectantly and said, "And?"

Kitty sighed irritatedly and said, "Come on!" She grabbed Kurt and Lance by the wrists, then quickly pulled the two of them along behind her to the front of the crowd until they were standing directly in front of the gate.

"Kitty!" Kurt said, scowling at her. "You shouldn't pull on people so suddenly like that." He rubbed his wrist where she had grabbed him and jerked him forward.

"Yeah," Lance said, nodding. "That hurt, you know."

"Well, you two wanted to, like, know what was going on," Kitty said, frowning at the two of them.

"How does this help?" Kurt asked her, the anger from earlier returning to his voice.

"Well, just, like, look!" Kitty said, pointing in between the bars of the gate to a spot across the street from them.

Kurt turned to look where she was pointing and that's when he saw them:

Three cars were parked across the street from the mansion, slightly down the road so that they were almost out of view and under the shade of a large cluster of maple trees. Two of the cars were police cars with the words WESTCHESTER COUNTY POLICE printed on the side of them and armed policemen seated in both the passenger and the drivers' seats. Wedged in between the two police cars was a shiny, black Lincoln four-day with two women sitting in the front seats. If Kurt squinted, he could see that one of the women was hurriedly taking notes on something that was inside a manilla folder.

"Who are they?" Kurt asked, turning his attention back to Kitty.

"No idea," Kitty said, shaking her head. "They've been parked there all morning, though."

"Not just today," a voice said.

The three of them turned to see a blonde girl named Tabitha standing a little ways away from them, her fingers laced through the bars of the gate.

"What?" Lance said. "You mean they've been here before?"

Tabitha looked at them and nodded.

"When?" Kurt asked her.

"Yesterday," Tabitha said, returning her attention to the three cars. "They were there all day yesterday and the day before that, too. They never leave."

Kurt turned back to Kitty and Lance and said, "What do you think they're here for?"

"I don't know," a voice said before Kitty or Lance had the chance to answer, "but the professor seems to think its about time their little party came to an end."

The three of them turned to see Logan walking towards them. The crowd of students dispersed as he approached, all except for Kurt, Kitty, and Lance who stayed behind.

"Well, doesn't he know who they are?" Kurt asked him as he continued to walk towards them.

"If he does, he's not saying," Logan said as he walked past them. He pulled the gate open and crossed its threshold silently.

"I can't believe they've been watching the mansion for three days," Kurt said, turning back to Kitty and Lance.

"I can't, like, believe the professor actually let them," Kitty said, scowling. "I mean, just like think of those guys watching you get dressed and stuff." She pointed to the policemen in their cars.

"They're the police, Kitty," Kurt said, sighing. "I don't think they would try to do something that would get them in trouble like that."

"You'd be surprised with the amount stuff the government will let a cop get away with," Lance said with a look of disgust on his face. "If they're from the county, though, then there's a pretty good chance that they're here for legal reasons."

"Legal reasons?" Kurt said, looking at him. "Like what?"

Lance looked at Kurt for a moment, as though gauging how he might react if he decided to share his thoughts. Then Lance shrugged and leaned up against the gate silently, his expression one of indifference.

Kurt opened his mouth to speak, but before he was able to say anything, Kitty pointed and said, "Look, Logan's coming back."

"Already?" Kurt said, turning to look where she was pointing. "Its hardly been five minutes."

"Yeah, I know," Kitty said, opening the gate for Logan as he approached them. "I wonder what they, like, said."

"A bunch of bull, that's what they said," Logan told them as he passed through the gate and closed it behind them.

Lance scoffed. "I could have told you that was going to happen," he muttered quietly as thought to himself.

"Well, what _did_ they say?" Kitty said, crossing her arms across her chest.

Logan looked at her and sighed. Then he said, "They said they were reporters from the Westchester County Gazette and that the police are there for protection from vandals."

"And you think they're lying?" Kurt asked him as he began to wonder who those reporters considered vandals – them or the Brotherhood boys?

"I know they're lying," Logan said, looking at him. "They were way too calm, almost like they had expected someone to go down there and question them."

"And when you talked to them," Lance said, causing the others to look at him, "you could tell, couldn't you – that everything they said, every answer they gave you had been scripted for them and that they had been rehearsing those same lines over and over again."

"Yeah," Logan said, frowning, "but how did you know that?"

"Experience," Lance said simply, as his eyes wandered over to Kurt.

Kurt stared at him for a moment uncertainly. It had been years since he had thought about the fact that Lance had at one point in his life been member of the Brotherhood. All of that had been forgotten after he had helped the X-Men destroy the Sentinels at the MRD headquarters, but the way he was looking at him just then made Kurt nervous. Like he knew something that he shouldn't know.

"What do you know, Lance?" Kurt asked, scowling at him.

"Look," Lance said, sighing. "All I'm going to say is that when the time comes, do _not _fight them, Kurt. It will only make things worse." He walked over to Kitty and put his arm around her waist. "Come on, Kitty, let's go in."

Kurt and Logan stood silently until the two of them were gone.

Then Kurt looked at Logan and said, "What do you think he was talking about?"

"No idea, blue boy," Logan said, shaking his head. Then he looked at him. "By the way, Ororo managed to get in contact with the Morlocks again. They're going to try and find Evan to get him over here, but even they're not too sure where he is exactly."

"Why didn't Storm tell me this before?" Kurt said, thinking back to just a few minutes ago when he been in the Cerebro chamber with Ororo and the others.

"You left before she had the chance," Logan told him, frowning. "And, you know, the professor isn't exactly thrilled about what you said to him, either."

"Oh, I – I see," Kurt said, frowning guiltily.

"Look, kid," Logan said, reaching out and putting his hand on Kurt's shoulder. "We're all worried about Mischa and Kiara. You're not the only one, trust me. Even Bobby is worried about them."

"Bobby is?" Kurt said with raised eyebrows, sounding surprised.

"He wouldn't have said the things he said the other day otherwise," Logan said, nodding. "What I'm trying to say, though, is that we all know you're worried about them, but, for your own sake, try to relax a little bit. Making yourself sick isn't going to help anyone."

"But they could be sick," Kurt reminded him quickly. "Both of them, and Rogue said there's a chance that Kiara might even go to prison for endangering Mischa's life and stuff when all she was trying to do was save her."

"We know that," Logan said, sighing. "We've all been aware that Kiara could get in trouble for what she's doing, but she has no past charges and not everyone is going see it as Kiara endangering a child. She's got people on her side, kid, so if it does need to go to trial, the professor is going to try and get it taken care of as quietly as possible and he's going to bring in as many people to back her up as he can."

Kurt stared at him for a moment, shocked. He had had no idea about any of this. "Well," he said, "why didn't the professor tell me about this sooner?"

"Kurt," Logan said, laughing bitterly. "Have you _seen_ yourself – you're not sleeping, barely eating, and every time you pass Bobby Drake in the hallway, you look like you're trying to keep yourself from killing him, though I can't say I blame you." His expression lingered between amused and angry for a moment before he went on. "But the point is no one likes seeing you like this and no one wants to be the one who makes it worse for you. You're a good guy, Kurt, and all we want is to see you relax a little bit."

Kurt sighed and said, "Yeah, alright. Thanks, Logan."

"Just try to take it easy, elf," Logan said, patting him on the back gently. "Worrying more isn't going to help them get here faster." Then he turned and walked back up the path to the mansion.

Kurt sighed and turned back to the closed front gate. He pressed forehead against the cool metal bars and his eyes fell on the three cars still parked down the street. He scowled at them. He didn't care what they were here for. They could report whatever they wanted about him, but no one was going to keep Kiara and Mischa from him any longer.

The Java Room Internet Cafe

New York, New York

A small, teenage girl with fair skin and pale green hair the color of sea-foam sat at the end of a long row of Dell computers. On the table beside her was a small cappuccino, that was dripping with foam but was no longer hot and a five-subject, spiral bound notebook in which she was scribbling with a blue ink pen. The computer monitor in front of her showed pictures of two people – one boy and one girl, both of whom only seemed to be a few years older than her. The boy was tall and smirking with silver hair that had been jelled carefully into place. The girl was also tall and equally as pale as the green-haired girl, but her hair was black and cut short into a spiky, Gothic style. Beneath their pictures was the word LOCATION.

"Wanda and Pietro," the girl said as she continued to scribble in her notebook. Then she closed out of the website she had been on – . She flipped through the pages of her notebook and grabbed her credit card from in between them and slipped it into the back pocket of her skinny jeans. She closed her notebook and grabbed it off the table, leaving the cappuccino behind as she started to leave.

As she did so, her screen name flashed on the computer monitor in the log-in box: Ldane55505.

A/N: Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to read this and I'm really sorry about the short chapters. Whenever I type them out, they're always between three to six pages long and then I upload them on here and they get instantly shortened. Its pretty frustrating to be honest. Either way, though, thanks for reading and I'm looking forward to seeing your reviews, kind or otherwise.


	15. Chapter 15

Disclaimer: I do not own the X-Men.

Chapter 15

The Port of New York and New Jersey

A girl sat, unconscious, on a chair made of nothing in a place made of darkness. Her skin was pale, the color of ivory, her dark hair tumbled over her shoulders, and dark bags formed half-circles beneath her eyes. She was covered in mud and there was ash in her hair. She wore nothing but a halter top and a pair of cut-off shorts, but even so, some would think she was pretty. Maybe even beautiful.

Kiara stood silently in front of her and stared at the girl. Who was she?

A voice in the back of her mind told Kiara that she should know who this girl was, but she just didn't know. The girl seemed vaguely familiar. Like someone she had known a long time ago, but hadn't thought about in a very long time. Still, though, Kiara was unable to remember who she was.

Then, after a moment of wondering who the girl could possibly be, the girl's eyelids fluttered open to reveal a pair of startling, blood-red eyes.

Kiara turned as she heard a gasp, but then the girl was gone and she was in her place. Wasn't she?

Kiara looked down at her arms and legs in shock – the black scales, which had covered nearly every inch of her body only a mere moment ago were gone. She tried to turn to see if her wings had gone, too, but she couldn't move. Her body ached and she felt as though she had been paralyzed, but, really, she was being held in place by some sort of seat belt. She cried out in panicked voice and tried to flap her wings, but she couldn't. They were gone, she realized, just like the scales. It was at that moment that Kiara noticed one thing – the only thing – that had not changed, and that was the fire burning deep inside her. But it was dull at the moment and burning at a pace that suggested it was struggling not to extinguished.

"Kurt," a voice said quietly, causing her to jump.

Kiara looked up to see a pair of bright, golden eyes framed by coarse blue fur, staring at her wide with shock and a sense of nervousness that even she could feel.

"Kurt Wagner," the voice said in a hushed, careful tone.

Kiara opened her eyes, panting heavily to see Mischa standing over her, looking curious and confused.

"Mama?" Mischa said, tilting her head slightly to the side so that her blood-red hair fell over her golden eyes. "Are you alright?"

Kiara reached out and pulled her daughter towards her. Then she sat and held her tightly, running her fingers through her coarse, black fur. "Sometimes," Kiara said, smiling sadly, "I think you look too much like him."

Mischa pulled away and looked up at her, the same curious expression as before playing about her face. "Like who, Mama?" she asked. "Vati?"

It was then that Kiara became aware of the sound of approaching footsteps. She leapt to her feet and pushed Mischa behind her gently, shielding her with her wings.

"Senhorita."

Kiara sighed and relaxed her stance when she heard the sound of Captain Alegrio's voice. "Herr Alegrio," she said, folding her wings up against her spine. "Please, forgive me. I thought you might have been a stranger." Her eyes narrowed at the thought.

"_Nao_(1)," Captain Alegrio said as he approached. "I have made it very clear to all of my crewmen that they are not to come down here. I would hate very much for any of them to bother you or your daughter." He gestured to Mischa, who smiled at him.

"Danke," Kiara said, nodding. She bent down and took her daughter in her arms. "Mischa is not used to strangers and with her powers just now manifesting, I would hate very much for something to happen to one of your crewmen."

Mischa frowned at her and said, "I would not hurt someone, Mama."

"Not on purpose, you wouldn't," Kiara said, looking at her. "But accidents do happen, Mischa." Her gaze darkened as she said this as though she was remembering something unpleasant.

"Well," Captain Alegrio said, smiling. "Fornunately, you do not have to worry about any accidents occuring for much longer."

"What do you mean?" Kiara said, looking at him.

"What I mean, senhorita," Captain Alegrio said, "is that we have reached the Port of New York and New Jersey, and your journey on my ship has come to an end."

Mischa's face lit up when she heard this and she smiled, and said, "Do you hear that, Mama – we are almost to Vati's, aren't we?"

"Yes, Mischa," Kiara said as her expression continued to grow even darker still, enhancing her frown lines, the bags under her eyes, and the gautness of her face. She looked up at the captain. "Is there any way that we can stay on _The Glaucia _until after the sun has set?" She did not look hopeful as she said this.

Captain Alegrio frowned and shook his head when he heard this. "_Nao_," he said. "I'm sorry, but I have merchants coming here in a few hours. I'm afraid you must be gone by then. Both of you."

Kiara nodded. "Yeah," she said. "Yeah, I understand."

Captain Alegrio nodded and said, "I hope that you have enjoyed your time aboard _The Glaucia_."

"Danke," Mischa said, smiling. "For helping us to get here."

Captain Alegrio nodded. Then he turned and left.

Kiara set Mischa down on the floor on the cargo hold. "Get your things together, Mischa," she said, "and put them in the bag. We need to get ready to go."

"Ja, Mama," Mischa said as she rushed over to her previous spot and grabbed her lemur off the floor.

Kiara knelt down and picked up the clothes Mischa had worn the day before off the floor. She threw them in the bag silently. She grabbed her old uniform and sketch book, and threw them in the duffle bag without looking at them. Then she paused for a moment and stared down at her palms, which were stained blood-red. That's when she noticed it:

The bright red sports watch she had been wearing since she was fourteen. The image inducer Professor Xavier had made for her after she had first arrived at the Institute. And after he had suppressed her memories.

Kiara frowned down at the watch-like object. The screen was cracked and the battery had died long ago. Besides that, she was almost certain that she had outgrown the hologram by now. She wrenched it off her wrist silently and threw it in the duffle bag without looking at it.

He could have it if he wanted to. Or Mischa could. Either way, they would both make better use of it than she did.

"Mama?"

"What is it, Mischa?" Kiara said, turning to see her daughter standing behind her.

Mischa stared at her for a second uncertainly. Then she said, "Will it take long for us to get Vati's?"

Kiara sighed and looked away from her. She begun rummaging through the duffle bag silently. Of course she would rather spend more time with him than her. Mischa didn't know him yet. It was only natural that she would be curious. "Of course not, Mischa," she said. "I'll get you there as soon as I can."

Mishca frowned and turned away from her. "Ja, Mama," she said, as she slowly opened her hand to reveal a tiny ball of pale, blue fire.

The Xavier Institute

Bayville, New York

"So?" Logan asked as he watched the professor remove the Cerebro helmet and set it back on its pedestal. "Did you get anything?"

Professor Xavier turned to face him. His eyes wandered to Beast and Ororo who were also present. His expression remained indifferent.

"Charles?" Ororo said as she watched him survey them.

Professor Xavier sighed and said, "They've stopped moving. The cargo ship they have been traveling on has made port."

"Made port?" Beast said with raised eyebrows. "Where?"

"The Port of New York and New Jersey," Professor Xavier said, turning back to Cerebro. He pressed a button on the keyboard that brought up a map with a red dot, blinking over the port. "This is the second time in a matter of weeks that Mischa has experimented with her powers. She's getting braver with them, but there's no telling whether or not she has any degree of control over them."

Beast exchanged a glance with Logan and Ororo. "So," he said, "should I go get Kurt and tell him – "

"No," Professor Xavier said firmly. "He'll go after them if we tell him where they are. We must wait for Kiara to bring Mischa here of her own accord." He wheeled his chair around and frowned. "Ororo, have you heard any word yet from the Morlocks on Evan's location?"

"Yes," Ororo said, looking at him. "They've located him, Professor. He should be here tomorrow, in fact. If not sooner."

"Good," Professor Xavier said. "Hank, I would like you to begin preparing a medical file on Mischa Wagner using the information we've already collected. If we were right about Kiara bringing her here to us, then they should be here in only a number of days and Kurt, no doubt, is going to want her to see a doctor."

"Yes, Professor," Beast said, nodding. "I'll get started on that right away." Then he turn and left.

"Ororo," Professor Xavier said, "I would like you to go keep a look out for Evan, and please tell Jean to do the same as well. With those people still watching the mansion, he will need to be careful who sees him. All the media knows about the Institute, at the moment, is that we are welcoming the mutant girl Mischa Wagner here to be with her father the same way we welcomed her mother here before. There's no reason for them to know that all the students are mutants."

Ororo nodded silently and left, leaving Logan and the professor in the Cerebro chamber by themselves.

"Who are those people out there, Chuck, watching the mansion?" Logan asked once Ororo was out of earshot. "You do know, don't you?"

"Of course I know, Logan," Professor Xavier said as he started to leave the room.

"Yeah," Logan said, following after him. "Some of the others have got a pretty good idea who they are as well – like Rogue and Lance, specifically, but they aren't saying a damn word, especially not to Kurt."

"That is most wise of them," Professor Xavier said as they continued down the hallway together. "Kurt would be furious if he knew why they were here, watching the mansion day after day."

"Then why the hell are you letting them stay?" Logan said. "Chuck, don't you think these kids go through enough on a daily basis without being put through the drama of a goddamn court trial – and what about Blaze's kid?"

Professor Xavier paused in the middle of the hall. "What about her, Logan?" he asked, his voice indifferent.

"Kiara worked as a slave to take care of her and now Mischa is traveling here with her just to be abandoned by her," Logan said, staring hard at the back of the professor's wheelchair. "Hasn't she been through enough – I mean, you're not really going to let those people just – "

"I have no choice in this matter, Logan," Professor Xavier said, looking at him from over his shoulder. "And neither will Kurt when the time comes. Of course, I would love to avoid putting my students through the events that are about to arise, but when that means tearing apart a family that is already in desperate need of saving, then what would you have me do?"

"What are you saying, Chuck?" Logan asked him.

"I am saying that if we do not comply with what those people want, then Kurt may never have his daughter," Professor Xavier said, looking away from him. He wheeled his chair down the hall and into the waiting elevator.

A/N - I just wanted to say thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter. This chapter has been my favorite to write, despite how short it is, and I look forward to hearing what everyone thinks of it. Thank you.


	16. Chapter 16

Disclaimer: I do not own the X-Men.

Chapter 16

New York City, New York

Kiara stood silently on the roof of a four-story, abandoned apartment building. She stared down silently at a sign that stood at the base of the building, alerting the world that demolition would start on the building at dawn as it was unsafe for habitation. She no idea what time it was, but the sun had set several hours ago and it had not been easy getting to where they were now. New York was a busy city, and during the summer daylight hours, Kiara and Mischa both stood out like a sore thumb with their black scales and fur.

"Mama."

Kiara turned to see Mischa standing behind her, gripping her stuffed lemur tightly by the neck, her eyes wide with an emotion that her mother could not define.

"Mischa," Kiara said as she knelt down and tucked a strand of her daughter's blood-red hair behind her fuzzy, elf-like ear. "Is something wrong?"

Mischa stared at her and frowned. Then she said, "You have been unhappy today."

"I know," Kiara said, frowning as her mind wandered back to the dream she had had earlier that day. "_Es tut mir leid_(1)."

"Why are you sad today?" Mischa asked her.

Kiara pulled away from her daughter. Then she grabbed her by the waist and sat down with her in her lap. "Mischa," she said, stroking her daughter's fur. "I'm not looking forward to losing you, you know, even if it is to your Vati."

Mischa looked around the rooftop with a confused look on her face. Then she looked up at her mother and said, "I thought this is where Vati lived."

"Nein, Mischa," Kiara said, laughing. She kissed her on the head. "No one lives here anymore."

"We should bring Vati here then," Mischa said, smiling. "Then we can all live here together."

"Um, no," Kiara said, her smile fading. "Your Vati wouldn't like that, and, besides that, we couldn't stay here if we wanted to. They're going to tear down this building tomorrow."

Mischa looked up at her mother as her smile was slowly replaced an by expression of sadness. "Mama," she said, looking up at the dark, empty sky, "tell me what it's like where my Vati lives."

"Your Vati lives in a wonderful place, Mischa," Kiara said, speaking slowly as she ran her fingers through her daughter's hair. "It's filled with wonderful people who will do literally anything to help you and who'll be able to help you learn how to control your powers."

"What is my Vati like?" Mischa asked, scanning the sky with her wide, golden eyes for some sign of light.

"Your Vati," Kiara said slowly, becoming instantly still as she spoke, "is a wonderful person. You have no idea how much it kills me to know that I hurt him." As she said this, her indifferent expression was replaced by one of sadness and a single tear streamed down her cheek, leaving behind a thin trail of smoke.

Mischa turned to face her with a stern look on her face. "_Sie haben noch liebe meinen Vati, nicht wahr_(2)?" she asked her.

Kiara looked down at her, shocked that Mischa would ask her such a thing. "Always," she said simply.

"I can't wait until we see my Vati," Mischa said, burying her face in her mother's chest. "So you can see that you're wrong, and he does love you. Then we'll be happy together."

Kiara laughed at the thought quietly. The idea that he could still love her after everything she had done was absurd. "You're silly, Mischa," she said, hugging her tightly.

The Xavier Institute

Bayville, New York

Kurt sat silently at the kitchen table with the Bible his adoptive parents had given years ago in front of him. He stared down at its ancient, yellowing, and dogeared pages with a string of rosary beads woven between the fingers of his right hand. With everything that was happening in his life – college, X-Men training, worrying about Mischa and Kiara – Kurt had even less time now for prayer and Bible study than he had had in high school, but that had never changed the fact that he was a devoted Catholic.

"Like, hey, Kurt," a voice said, pulling Kurt out of his reverie.

Kurt looked up to see Kitty and Rogue entering the kitchen together. He smiled at them as he placed the rosary beads between the pages of his Bible and closed it. "Hey, you guys," he said, looking up at them. "How is everything?"

"You oughta know," Rogue said as she crossed the room and grabbed a cup out of the cupboard over the sink. "You live here, too, you know." She turned the faucet on and ran the cup under the stream of water.

"Yeah, that's true," Kurt said, laughing, "but, lately, I've been starting to feel..." He paused in search of the right word. "...cramped."

"Yeah, I totally know what you mean," Kitty said, sitting down beside him at the table. She grabbed an apple out of the bowl fruit and bit into it eagerly. "Especially since the professor, like, banned us from using our powers on the grounds because those 'reporters' – " she made air quotes around the word " – and their police escort are still keeping watch on the mansion like it's big news or something."

"As if," Rogue said, sitting down at the table with a cupful of cold water. "It's gotten so boring around here, even Evan Daniels was no-show today."

"Yeah, I wonder what, like, happened to him," Kitty said, looking at her. "The Morlocks told Storm he would be here today." She took another bite of her apple.

"Who knows?" Rogue said, taking a sip of her water.

The three of them looked up suddenly as lightening flashed across the window and thunder sounded loudly above them.

"Something tells me, it has something to do with the weather," Kurt said, frowning as he stared out the dark, rain-streaked window. He turned back to the other two. "I do hope Evan is alright, though. Ororo seemed really worried about him."

"Well, of course she's worried," Kitty said, looking at him. "He _is_ her nephew, after all."

"Yeah, it's pretty natural for someone to be worried about their family," Rogue said, nodding. She drained the last of her water.

"Yeah," Kurt said, nodding. "I know what you mean, believe me."

Rogue looked at him silently. Then her eyes fell on his Bible, and she looked from him to it and back again.

"Problem, Rogue?" Kurt said, frowning as he caught her gaze.

"No, I –" Rogue said, then she caught herself mid-sentence and decided to start over. "You were thinking about Kiara, weren't you – saying a prayer for her?"

"Yes, and?" Kurt said, scowling at her. "I pray every night for lots of people. Why should it be any different if I pray for her?"

"Do I need to give you a list of the things she's done wrong to you?" Rogue said, her tone suddenly angry as she jumped to her feet.

"It's, like, his life, Rogue," Kitty said quietly, causing both Kurt and Rogue to look at her. "Let him pray for whoever he wants."

"Seriously?" Rogue said, sounding outraged. "You're on her side, too?"

"I'm not on anyone's side," Kitty said, sighing, "but Kiara was my friend once, too, and _our _teammate." She gestured to the three of them as she said this. "I'm not the one she hurt when she left here, though. Kurt is." She pointed to him. "So when she gets here, if she decides to stick around and if she apologizes to him, and he decides to forgive her, then I'll forgive her, too."

The room was silent for a moment as Kurt sat silently, staring at his best friend and Rogue stood, scowling at her.

"Thank you, Kitty," Kurt said, smiling at her. "That means a – "

"You're kidding, right?" Rogue said to Kitty, cutting Kurt off. "Kiara didn't hurt you when she left here – you were just as upset as he was. You were even in tears at one point, and then you were mad at her. And she didn't hurt you?"

Kurt sat silently, watching as Kitty faltered, shocked by Rogue's questions and accusations. Then he moved his chair back, away from the table, so that he was a safe distance away from the both of them in case the fighting escalated. Thunder boomed loudly in the distance as he did so.

"Well, yeah, she did," Kitty said a moment later, scowling at Rogue. "But that was just because she, like, lied to me and didn't bother telling me anything, even though we were supposed to be close friends. Now, that I know why she did it, though..." Her voice trailed and her expression softened to one of sympathy.

"She was pregnant," Rogue said angrily. "By him, supposedly." She pointed to Kurt. "You didn't know then, but you do know now, and that magically makes everything okay?"

"No," Kitty said quickly, her expression angry again. She sat silently for a moment and the look on her face slowly shifted back to sympathetic."Well, I don't know, but I get it now. I do. I mean, Kiara obviously didn't want to leave Kurt, but she did because she was pregnant and she was scared and she thought she would have been, like, helping him. So her intentions were good, but she still hurt Kurt. That's why I said if he forgives her, then I will, too – I mean, it's a gray area, Rogue. What else do you want me to say?"

Rogue stared at her silently for a moment, her mouth open in disbelief. Then she shook her head and said, "I don't believe this. I really don't."

"What don't you get, Rogue?" Kurt said, speaking for the first time in what felt like hours. "That Kitty is defending her friend?"

"Her friend who stabbed her in the back!" Rogue said, rounding on him angrily. "Who stabbed you in the back – who hid your daughter from you! How could you forgive her for that?"

Kurt sighed as he got to his feet and crossed the room to where Rogue was. He reached out to put his hand on her shoulder, but she pulled away from him angrily. He shrugged and said, "No one said it was going to be easy to forgive Kiara, but as long as she's sorry – and I mean, _truly _sorry – for what she did, that's all that matters to me. If she doesn't care at all about what she did, then I'll move on and won't have anything to do with her, except for when we need to interact for the sake our daughter."

"And then what happens if she is sorry?" Rogue spat at him. "You just going to take her back and let this whole thing happen all over again?"

"If Kiara is sorry, then I'll forgive her, and we'll see where things go from there," Kurt told her. His voice was calm, but it was an angry, scary sort of calm that it made seem like these were all things that he had thought of before and, obviously, he had. It was evident in the way he spoke and the look on his face, which despite his best efforts to remain indifferent, was one of hurt. "There's a chance that she may not even feel that way about me anymore, and if she doesn't, then that's fine. I'll get over it, but I want her in my life, Rogue – she's the mother of my child and, like or not, I just need to know that she's safe, at the very least. What is so wrong with that that you would fight me like this to persuade me otherwise?"

Rogue scowled at him silently. Then she turned on her heel and said, "You're a fool if you ever take her back. That's all I have to say." With that, she left.

Kurt stood silently and watched his sister leave, uncertain of whether or not he should go after her. But for what reason – to apologize?

For what?

Rogue had been in the wrong this time, not him. She was being immature and unreasonable. Kurt wasn't the one who needed to learn a lesson here. Of that much, he was certain.

"Are you alright, Kurt?" Kitty said from her spot at the table.

"Yeah," Kurt said, looking at her. He walked across the room back to his seat at the table and sat down. "Yeah, I'm fine. I just don't get Rogue – I mean, it's like you said, I'm the one Kiara hurt, so what has she got to be angry for?"

"Kiara hurt a lot of people when she left here, Kurt," Kitty said, frowning. "Not just you. I was hurt for a while, but now that I know why she left, I kind of get where she was coming from. She must have been really scared and nervous, and she thought that leaving would protect you. Add that to the fact that she had just gotten back her memories about her sicko dad, and she must have been even more horrified than any of us can even imagine." She shook her head and sighed. "I don't even, like, know what I would have done if I had been in her situation, although the odds of me handling it differently are definitely higher, but Rogue is your sister and she was the one of the ones closest to Kiara when you and her weren't speaking. They shared a room together and clothes, and with Rogue's mutation, what are the odds that she is ever going to be able to relate to the situation Kiara was in?"

Kurt stared at her for a moment, uncertain of how to respond. Then he said slowly, "The situation Kiara was in?"

"An accidental pregnancy?" Kitty said in a tone of voice that implied that much should have been obvious to him. "Or how about just pregnant at all?"

"Well, wait a minute," Kurt said quickly. "Rogue could – she could get –" He paused, unable to bring himself to finish the sentence. "She could have a kid if she wanted to. When she's older." He scowled and resisted the urge to add in the words "Much older."

"Like, how, Kurt?" Kitty said, looking at him with raised eyebrows. "Through in vitro – do you have any idea how much that even, like, costs?"

Kurt looked away and shook his head, sighing. "I can't believe this is what you guys talk about when I'm not around," he muttered in a disbelief.

"Like, oh, my god, Kurt," Kitty said, rolling her eyes at him in annoyance. "That is so not even the point right now."

"Good," Kurt said, frowning at her. "Would you mind telling me what is the point then?"

"The point is that Rogue is your sister," Kitty told him. "And Mischa is her niece. Didn't you ever stop to think that she feels, like, robbed of an experience that she might never get the chance to go through?"

Kurt thought about for a moment, considering. Then he said, "So you're saying –"

"I'm saying that you aren't the only one who missed out on all of Mischa's firsts," Kitty said, her voice tinged with annoyance. "Rogue wanted to be there with Kiara and Mischa for all that stuff – Kiara's pregnancy, the birthing process, Mischa's first words, all that stuff – and she couldn't be there for it because Kiara was on the other side of the world in Germany, hiding from you. And to be honest, it would have been nice if I could have been there, but it means more to Rogue than it does to me because I have my own family and all she has is you and Mischa, and the people here."

"And Mystique," Kurt added, nodding.

Kitty looked at him with raised eyebrows and said, "I'm not so sure Rogue considers Mystique family."

"Whatever," Kurt said, getting to his feet. "I'm going to talk to Rogue."

"You aren't the one Rogue needs to talk to, Kurt," Kitty said as she turned in her seat to watch him leave. "Kiara is. She needs to apologize and Rogue needs to accept, and whether you like it or not, that may not ever happen."

"So how, exactly, am I supposed to fix things between them then?" Kurt said, turning face to her.

"Well, first of all, I think you're forgetting that you may not even have to," Kitty said. "There's no proof that Kiara is going to stay here when – or if – she comes to drop Mischa off. If she does, like, decide to stay, then you need to let the two of them figure it by themselves and let them work it out on their own."

"Then what am I supposed to do?" Kurt asked her. "Just stand there and watch Rogue yell at her for something she may not even know she did wrong?"

"Exactly," Kitty said, smiling. "I know it's not a pleasant thought, but Rogue and Kiara are both big girls, Kurt, and this is something that they need to, like, get through on their own, you know?" She grabbed his Bible off the kitchen table and tossed it to him.

Kurt caught it and stared at it. "Thanks," he said, looking confused. "I think."

"Look," Kitty said, getting to her feet. "Why don't you just, like, try praying them like you do every other night?" She crossed the room and started to leave. "I'm going to go and, like, find Lance, okay?"

"Yeah, okay," Kurt said, watching her leave.

Once she was gone, he walked across the room back to the table and returned to his seat once again. He took the rosary beads out of his Bible and opened it silently. He held the rosary between his fingers and spoke quietly, "_Heiliger Vater, ich sage ein Gebet fur meine Schwester, ihr zu helfen Rogue demjenigen vergeben, der sie zu verletzen_(3)_. Fehlerfreie Herr, dauerhafte Tod fur mich, Sie haben die Schuld meiner Sunden vollzogen: Ihre Opfer der Vergebung war absolut! Gib mir die Kraft, auch anderen zu vergeben, Um ihre Ubertretungen gegen mich zu entschuldigen. Also ich kann wirklich spiegeln diese geistliche Frucht, Auslochen keine anhaltende Gefuhle von Bosheit. Lassen Sie jede Ubertretung Ende als Schlusskapitel, Meine Weiterbildung auf dem Weg der Gerechtigkeit. Vergib mir meine Sunden, wie ich danach streben, anderen zu vergeben. Sie sind wirklich archetypische der Vergebung. Sie sind ein sehr verzeihend Herr! Amen_.(4)"

1)Es_ tut mir leid_ – "I'm sorry" in German.

2)Sie_ haben noch liebe meinen Vati, nicht wahr _– "You still love my Vati, don't you?" in German.

3)Heiliger_ Vater, ich sage ein Gebet fur meine Schwester, ihr zu helfen Rogue demjenigen vergeben, der sie zu verletzen _– "Holy Father, I say a prayer for my sister Rogue to help her forgive the one who hurt her." in German.

4)Fehlerfreie_ Herr, dauerhafte Tod fur mich, Sie haben die Schuld meiner Sunden vollzogen: Ihre Opfer der Vergebung war absolut! Gib mir die Kraft, auch anderen zu vergeben, Um ihre Ubertretungen gegen mich zu entschuldigen. Also ich kann wirklich spiegeln diese geistliche Frucht, Auslochen keine anhaltende Gefuhle von Bosheit. Lassen Sie jede Ubertretung Ende als Schlusskapitel, Meine Weiterbildung auf dem Weg der Gerechtigkeit. Vergib mir meine Sunden, wie ich danach streben, anderen zu vergeben. Sie sind wirklich archetypische der Vergebung. Sie sind ein sehr verzeihend Herr! Amen_. – Okay, basically, it took me like fifteen minutes to type this out, so I'm just going to put a link to the prayer in English because I got from the Catholic church website that I didn't even know existed until today (sorry, I'm not Catholic shrugs**). **Here you go – .?p=731

A/N: I would like to take this time to apologize for a number of things. The first being the amount of time it took me to write and post this chapter, but I had serious writers' block and I wanted to write one thing, while conveying another and without taking a step backwards in the story. Not easy. The other thing I want to apologize for is the amount of the German in this chapter. Not everyone speaks German, I get that, I don't speak it so well, either. I'm sorry if the translations make you angry, but they're a part of the characters. The other thing I wanted to apologize for is in case I offended someone by adding a Catholic prayer to this chapter. I am not Catholic (or Christian for that matter - no offense to any Christians out there, its nothing against you, promise). I just happen to think Kurt's Catholicism is very beautiful part of his personality that is not explored nearly enough in the X-Men: Evolution series (I think they brought it up in like one episode and never mentioned it again), so its something I wanted to include in my fic. I hope you understand that and can forgive me if I offended you.

Thank you to everyone who has gone out their way to read and review my work. I look forward to hearing from you all again, and I hope you enjoy the wait for the next chapter because its gonna be a good one. Thank you ^_^


	17. Chapter 17

Disclaimer: I do not own the X-Men

Chapter 17

Kurt lay silently in his darkened bedroom. Five days had passed since his last argument with Rogue, and he had continued to pray for both she and Kiara since then. He wasn't sure how much good it was going to do, however. Rogue did not easily forgive people, and there was no chance that Kiara would ever stick around long enough for the two of them to work things out between, but he had still resisted the urge to speak with Rogue about it on his own. Kitty was right – Kiara and Rogue were big girls. They would have to solve this on their own.

Kurt sat up in bed and sighed as he checked the watch on his image inducer. It was twelve-thirty AM. He turned to look out the window. During the five days that had passed, the rain had persisted to fall, on and off again, on three of them. Thunder had echoed consistently throughout the mansion, while lightening flashed continually across the dreary, gray sky, the sun half-hidden behind clouds the color of wet cement. Thankfully, though, it had stopped two days ago and tonight the sky was clear, save for a pale, crescent moon, he noted as he turned to look out his window, but for some reason, though, he just couldn't bring himself to fall asleep.

There was something that just kept nagging at him from the back of his mind that made him think that something important was about to happen. But what, though?

Kurt narrowed his eyes as his gaze fell on the black Lincoln four-door still waged safely in between two Westchester County police cars just down the road. He could just barely make out the silhouettes of the two women, who were still carefully pretending to be reporters inside the car. Not that anyone in the Institute bought that. Everyone knew they were lying, but no one – except for Lance and, maybe, Rogue – knew what exactly it was that they were up to. They didn't seem to be causing trouble, though, so why bother them?

Kurt sighed and fell backwards in bed. What was it that was so important that his subconscious mind felt the need to deprive him of sleep?

Kiara flew silently through the cool night air, which was unusually dry tonight, even despite it being summer and the scent of recently fallen rain flooded her nostrils. She held Mischa tightly in her arms, craddling her small, furry form close to her own scaly body. How long had it been since they had left New York City?

How long had it been since Kiara started flying?

She wasn't sure. All she really knew was that she didn't want to stop. She never wanted this journey to come to an end because if it did, then that would mean giving up Mischa, but it was no good. They had been flying for days now, and, finally, after so, so long, Kiara had been able to make out the familiar buildings and landscapes from her past that marked Bayville, New York. The most prominent of these things was the Xavier Institute for Gifted Youngsters, which she could see from she was high on a hill beyond the building she recognized as Bayville High, her old high school.

"Mama?"

Kiara looked down to see her daughter, gazing up at her sleepily through half-lidded eyes. She frowned as she saw this – Mischa was supposed to be asleep.

"_Nicht bewegen_(1)," Kiara said firmly as she began to make her descent downwards. She landed on the ground carefully, directly in front of the front doors of Bayville High and set Mischa down on her feet, grateful that despite the recent rainfall there seemed to be no puddles or flooding on the ground.

"Where are we, Mama?" Mischa said, looking around as her mother adjusted the bag she was carrying. Her large, golden eyes fell on the high school, which seemed to be the only building in sight for several miles.

Kiara knelt down and grabbed Mischa by the hand. Then she turned and pointed to a tall mansion high on a hilltop at least two miles away from where they were now. "That place is going to be your home," she told her daughter. "It's the Xavier Institute."

Mischa's eyes widened as she took in the size of the mansion, which was noticeable even from where they were. "That is where Vati lives?" she said, turning back to face her mother. "But I – I – " She started to speak and then faltered. Then she pulled free of her mother's grip and scowled, suddenly angry as she realized what was happening. "Nein! I won't go – you can't make me!"

Kiara sighed and shook her head. It was unlike Mischa to throw tantrums, but she should have known this was going to happen – there was no way she would be willing to go quietly. "Weren't you just saying how you couldn't wait until we went to see your Vati, so that I would see how wrong I was and that he did love me?" she reminded her in sing-song voice, rolling her eyes at the idea.

"Nein!" Mischa said, stomping her foot and looking away from her angrily. "I lied. You lied – you will not send me there! I won't let you!"

"Mischa, please," Kiara said pleadingly, giving in to the exhaustion she felt from flying nonstop from New York City to Bayville. "They probably already know we're here. They're probably expecting you, so please don't make things harder than they already are. You know I'm not looking forward to losing you."

Mischa turned to look at her mother, and her expression wavered when she saw the look of sadness and exhaustion on her face. "Then why don't you come with me?" she asked, looking somewhat hopeful.

"Mischa," Kiara groaned loudly. Mischa must have asked her this a million times by now. When was she going to realize that she just couldn't? "I can't, Mischa. Don't you..." Her voice trailed off as she heard a sound in the distance.

It was a familiar sound. One she had heard often, but, somehow, she just couldn't quite place it.

"Mama?" Mischa said, frowning at her mother's sudden silence. "What is wrong –"

"Shh!" Kiara said, pressing her forefinger against her daughter's lips.

Then, suddenly, from out of nowhere an enormous, black eighteen-wheeled truck turned the corner at the end of the road and it was then that Kiara was able to place the sound that she had heard – squealing tires.

Horrified, Kiara shrugged the duffel bag off her shoulder and thrust it into her daughter's arms as the truck rushed towards them. "Go, Mischa," she said firmly as she did so, the fire rising inside of her. "Go to the Xavier Institute."

"What?" Mischa said, looking confused. "But, Mama, I – "

Kiara wheeled her around sharply, so that she was facing in the direction as the truck continued to rush towards them. She pointed to the Institute. "Just look at it, concentrate, and go," she said, her voice laced with anger and agitation. The fire was growing stronger within her as the truck came ever closer to them. "Teleport there – it's nothing but a straight line. I've seen you go further on _The Glaucia_ when you thought I was asleep! Now, go!"

"But, Mama – " Mischa said, looking from her mother to the Institute and back again.

Kiara turned to face the truck. It was less than half a mile away from them. "I love you, Mischa, and that is the safest place for you!" she said, looking back at her daughter angrily. "Now, get out of here, and go!"

Mischa gasped when she heard her mother's harsh tone, her lower lip trembling slightly. Then she teleported, disappearing in a burst of pale blue fire.

The truck stopped in front of Kiara before she even had a chance to know what was happening. Then the man came at her with guns raised.

What was happening – who were these people? She tried to breathe fire at them, but one of them came at her from behind and hit her in the head with a rifle butt. She fell hard to the ground, landing on her knees, and it was then she realized it didn't matter. It didn't matter that she could breathe fire or fly or had trained in fighting at the Xavier Institute – in the state she was in now, these men would have defeated her even if she hadn't wanted to kill them.

An instant later, Kiara felt the cold steel of the collar as they latched it around her neck, and the fire deep inside of her began to dwindle. What was going on?

Kiara reached up to touch the collar, but someone grabbed her hands and held them together tightly behind her. They stomped on her back, pushing her to the ground.

Then she heard the sound of the trailer attached to the truck opening, and they wrenched her to feet by her hands and threw her inside of it.

Kiara fell face-forward silently in the dark, empty space as the door to the trailer was closing. Then just as it closed, she sat up and wheeled about, and just was able to make out a black jumpsuit with the letters M and R on the back of it. Then the people were gone, and she was alone in the darkness. She stood up and ran across the width of the trailer and started began to pound the door loudly.

"Help!" Kiara screamed as she continued to pound on the door. "Somebody help me - please!"

Then she fell over backwards she felt the trailer lurch forward. It was then that she knew that the eighteen-wheeler was moving, and she was not getting out of it.

All she could be thankful for now was that Mischa was not there with her.

Mischa appeared in burst of pale, blue flames outside of the gate. She stared at the gate silently, her eyes wide with fear and shining with tears as she searched for some sign that this was the place where she would find her Vati. There was a shining, bronze sign hanging on one of the gates pillars. She wasn't entirely sure what it said, but she recognized the letter X, so she knew this must have been the place her mother had always told her about. She stared up at the mansion that was the driveway, uncertain of whether or not she should continue. The gate was closed, after all. But this is where her mother had said her Vati lived.

What if she had been wrong, though - what if he didn't live here anymore?

"Mischa!"

"Mischa Wagner?"

Mischa turned silently to see two women, escorted by four police officers, getting out of a shiny, black car parked down the road, calling to her as she did so.

Mischa stared at the women, gripping her duffel bag closer to her uncertainly as they approached her. Who were they - how did they know her name?

Mischa frowned as they rushed towards her. She couldn't tell if they were nice or not just by looking at them – one was a tall brunette, the other was a short blonde with glasses. Both were dressed in what she thought were business suits.

"Mischa Wagner?" the brunette woman called to her as they approached her.

It was then that Mischa realized that she should not be here, letting these people get near her. She should not even be thinking about talking to these people. She had to get to her Vati.

Mischa turned silently as the women and police officers continued to rush towards her. She stared hard at the mansion up the driveway from where she was and concentrated. Then she teleported and vanished once again in a burst of blue flames.

Kurt sat bolt, up-right in bed as the security alarm wailed loudly, echoing throughout the Institute. He ran across the room and threw open his door. The hall outside his room was flooded with students, all suiting up in their X-Men uniforms, siren lights danced across the walls of the dark hallway.

Then, suddenly, it all stopped – someone had turned the alarm off.

"Hey, Kurt!"

Kurt turned to see Kitty, running down the hall towards him, looking frantic. "Kitty," he said. "What's going on?"

"I don't know," Kitty said, shrugging. "I was just about to, like, ask you that."

"Wha– ?" Kurt opened his mouth to speak, but was cut off almost instantly by another sound:

A frantic banging and pounding that broke through the quiet murmuring of all the students and echoed through the mansion. Kurt stood, silently, as he realized that there was someone downstairs, pounding on the front door of the Institute, begging for entrance. The sound continued, resounding throughout the now quiet mansion as all the students stood uncertainly, unsure of what to do.

"Kurt," Kitty said, looking at him, her eyes wide. "You don't think – "

Kurt didn't even need to wait for her to finish the sentence. He grabbed her by the arm and teleported them both downstairs to the foyer. When he got there, he saw the professor, Logan, Beast, and Ororo also approaching. He ran across the room to the front door and threw it open.

Standing there on the front porch was a small girl, frozen in her motions, about four years old, who barely even came up to his waist. She had long, blood-red hair shot through with streaks of bright yellow and black. Her entire body was covered with coarse, black fur and she had a long, barbed black tail nearly identical to his own, except for the color. She wore a filthy, tattered turquoise-colored with holes in it and a faded white ribbon, and she was a clutching a filthy, brown duffel brown emblazoned with a red-and-black X logo on the front of it.

The girl had paused in her actions as the door opened and was staring up at him now, her bright, golden eyes wide with fear. "Vati?" she asked in a German accent that was nearly thicker than his own, probably due both to where she had been raised and his time spent in America, which had caused him to lose some of his accent. As she spoke, Kurt noted a mouthful of bright, white pointy fangs identical to his own.

The girl didn't wait for an answer and neither did Kurt. She threw herself at him without a moment's notice, throwing her bag to the ground and Kurt was on his knees, hugging her tightly to him as she burst into tears. She quickly buried her face in his shirt and began to weep loudly.

"Mischa!" a voice called out. "Mishca, no!"

Kurt looked up to see two women and four police officers rushing towards them, up the front the driveway. It was the reporters and their police escort.

"Who are you?" Kurt demanded, scowling at them. "What are you doing here, and what do you want with Mischa?"

"Yes," Professor Xavier said, appearing beside Kurt in the doorway. "Please, do explain yourself."

"My name is Eugenia Fletcher," the tall brunette woman said, pulling her wallet and ID out of her pocket for them all to see. "I am a social worker from CPS and I have come to take that little girl from you."

"What?" Kurt said, sounding outraged as he got to his feet and pulled Mischa closer to him. "Mischa is my daughter – you can't take her!"

"Kurt!"

Kurt turned to see Lance and Rogue rushing down the grand staircase towards him and Mischa. He gripped Mischa even tighter as he suddenly realized that they had probably known who this woman was all along. They had had experience with the foster system, after all.

"Kurt," Lance said, skidding to halt in front of him. "Give her to the police officer, and everything will be alright."

"Nein!" Kurt spat at him as Mischa began to sob even harder in his arms. He stroked her head as he spoke. "They can't take Mischa from me – I'm her father!"

"We have no proof of that," the short blonde woman said, adjusting her glasses. "And she is going in a foster home where she belongs until we can sort out whatever it is that's going on in court."

She stepped to the aside as a tall, male police officer with thick brown hair stepped forward, looking at Kurt expectantly.

"Kurt, please," Rogue said, looking at her brother pleadingly. "Give her to them. It will be alright, I promise."

"Nein, Rogue," Kurt said, looking at her in disbelief as he pulled Mischa even closer to him still. "Look at her – hasn't she been through enough?" He gestured to Mischa, who was still sobbing loudly into his shirt. "I'm not just going to hand her over to these people without even an explanation."

"Yeah," Logan said, walking over to them. "Just who the hell do you people think you are, coming here and trying to take her from him?" He gestured to Kurt and Mischa.

"We've already told you," Eugenia Fletcher said. "I am a New York State social worker, and we have no idea who he is – " She pointed to Kurt " – which is why she is getting put in a foster home."

"My name is Kurt Wagner," Kurt said, looking at her. "Mischa is my daughter."

"And my name is Sarina Clairmonte," the short blonde woman said, pulling some papers out of her briefcase and handing them to the professor. "I represent the Krauste family from Berlin, Germany and they are seeking custody of that little girl, who I believe to be their granddaughter. So she is going in a foster until we have a chance to sort this out in court as I said earlier."

"What?" Kurt said, looking at her. His expression changed almost instantaneously from one of anger to one of absolute. He had always known that this was a possibility, but he never dreamed that they would actually go through with it. "They're doing what?"

Mischa wrapped her arms tightly around his neck and wound her fingers in his hair, while still continuing to sob loudly.

"They are seeking custody of their granddaughter," Sarina Clairmonte repeated. "She belongs back home with them in Germany. Not in a group home, being raised by some college student who's practically still a child himself."

Kurt scowled at her as she said this, but as he opened his mouth to speak, Lance reached out and put his hand on his shoulder. "Kurt," he said. "If you fight this, all it's going to do is make things worse."

"I'm afraid he's right, Kurt," Professor Xavier said, still looking over the papers Clairmonte had given to him. "It would seem you have no choice."

Kurt looked silently at the people around him, a pained look on his face. Then he reached out silently and handed Mischa carefully over to the nearest police officer. The minute Mischa was out his arms, she was screaming and wailing, and struggling to hit the officer.

Kurt rushed over to her quickly and said, "Be good, Mischa. Don't use your powers until you come back here. Your mother wouldn't like it if you did." He wound his fingers through her tiny hand as the police officer began to walk away, carrying her away from him.

"NEIN!" Mischa screamed at the top of her lungs, her voice piercing the quiet night. "Nein, Vati!" She reached out to him as the officer carried her away. "Ich liebe Sie, Vati – _Bitte nicht! Schicken Sie mich nicht weg – ich werde gut sein, das verspreche ich! Ich verspreche, Vati!_(2)"

Kurt turned away silently as he continued to listen to Mischa scream in rapid German, her shrieks echoing in the silent darkness of the night. He closed his eyes shut tightly as he tried to block out the sound to keep himself from running after her, but he couldn't. The sound her of screaming for him, begging him not to send her away was too chilling a sound, and he felt as though some part of him had shattered inside his chest. Never had he thought he could experience a pain worse than he had felt on the day Kiara had left him. He had been wrong.

"Mr. Wagner?"

Kurt turned silently to see Eugenia Fletcher still standing in the doorway of the mansion on the front porch. The rest of people were gone as was the bag Mischa had brought with her.

"What is it?" Kurt asked the social worker angrily. Then he had to remind himself that none of this was her fault at all. She had only been doing her job. Somehow, however, that still didn't stop him from being angry at her.

"If you really are Mischa's father," Fletcher said, "we have laws here in New York State that will protect your rights as her parent if you are willing to pursue them."

"Laws?" Kurt asked her uncertainly. He really had no idea what she was talking. The little research he had done on the subject had taught him nothing, except a couple phrases of legal jargon.

"Yes," Fletcher said, nodding. "I'm sure Professor Xavier knows all about them."

"Ja," Kurt said, nodding. "Thank you." Then he closed the door silently in her face.

Kurt turned to face the room of people in front of him – Kitty, Lance, Rogue, Scott, Jean, Logan, Beast, and Ororo. All of them stood in a stunned silence, unable to believe what had just happened, listening to Mischa's screams of German, which could still be heard in the distance, with varying looks of discomfort and horror playing about their faces. All except for the professor.

"You knew who they were?" Kurt asked the professor without looking at him.

"Yes," Professor Xavier said, nodding. "I didn't tell you because I knew you would go after them, worsening your chances of ever getting back your daughter, but I can assure you, I'm going to do everything in my power to put a rush on this court date."

"I see," Kurt said, nodding. He looked at Rogue and Lance. "You knew as well?"

Rogue and Lance exchange looks of discomfort, and remained silent for a moment.

"We didn't tell you," Rogue said, "because we didn't want you to do something stupid – "

"Something stupid, Rogue?" Kurt said, looking at her. "Like what, exactly – try to prevent them from taking my daughter from me? Did you want this to happen?" He shook his head with a pained look on his face.

"Kurt, no," Rogue said, quickly in disbelief. "I would never wish this on anyone – "

"You would never wish this on anyone, and yet you stood here, begging me to give her to those people?" Kurt asked her, his tone of voice raising slightly.

"Kurt," Kitty said. "None of us wanted this to happen, but she would have ended up going with those people anyway. They were from the state."

"I had her in my arms, Kitty," Kurt said, looking at her. "I had her, sobbing in my arms. Look at my shirt." He gestured to his shirt, which was soaked with tears. "And I gave her to those people, and you do what she said to me – do you have any idea what she was saying as I just let those people take her away from me?"

"N-no," Kitty said in a shaky voice as she shook her head. She didn't speak German. How could she possibly know?

"She was begging me, Kitty," Kurt told her angrily. "She literally _begging _me not to give her to those people, promising me she would be good - as if that could have possibly made a difference - calling me her 'Vati' and begging me not give her away! That's what she was saying!" He turned and started up the grand staircase back to his room.

When he reached the landing, he turned the corner and saw Bobby Drake there silently, a horrified look on his face. Kurt pushed past him silently.

"Kurt!" Bobby called to him.

Kurt paused and turned to face him, an angry, inquiring look on his face.

"I'm so sorry," Bobby said, shaking his head. "I never, ever wanted this to happen."

"When I get my daughter back," Kurt said, scowling at him, "you stay away from her until I say otherwise." Then he turned and continued down the hall into his room and slammed the door behind him.

1) _Nicht bewegen _– German for "Don't move."

2) _Bitte nicht! Schicken Sie mich nicht weg – ich werde gut sein, das verspreche ich! Ich verspreche, Vati! – "_Please no! Don't send me away – I'll be good, I promise! I promise, Daddy!" in German

A/N: I freaking hate myself right now. I am so depressed from writing this. Please, read and review, I want to know what was going through your head when you guys (whoever you may be) read this. Please, no comments on how crappy the whole kidnapping scene was. That stuff is my weakness.

Thank you.


End file.
